Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 104
मुक्त्वा शस्त्रहतं चैकं तस्मिन्नहनि यो नरः । करिष्यति तथा श्राद्धं भूतभोज्यं भविष्यति । विश्वामित्र उवाच । तथेत्युक्ते तु शक्रेण ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः । विश्वेदेवैस्ततः प्रोक्तो विनयावनतैः स्थितैः
muktvā śastrahataṃ caikaṃ tasminnahani yo naraḥ | kariṣyati tathā śrāddhaṃ bhūtabhojyaṃ bhaviṣyati | viśvāmitra uvāca | tathetyukte tu śakreṇa brahmā lokapitāmahaḥ | viśvedevaistataḥ prokto vinayāvanataiḥ sthitaiḥ
Sauf un seul cas, celui de l’homme tué par une arme, si en ce jour un homme accomplit le śrāddha de cette manière impropre, l’offrande deviendra nourriture des bhūta (esprits). Viśvāmitra dit : Lorsque Śakra (Indra) eut déclaré : « Ainsi soit-il », alors Brahmā, l’aïeul des mondes, fut adressé par les Viśvedevā, qui se tenaient inclinés avec humble déférence.
Viśvāmitra (narrator for the latter portion); Brahmā’s ordinance continues in the first portion
Type: kshetra
Scene: A ritual day at a sacred place: a householder prepares śrāddha offerings; shadowy bhūtas hover to seize misdirected food; Indra assents; Brahmā sits as cosmic judge while Viśvedevās stand with folded hands, bowed in humility.
FAQs
Rites done against injunction can be misdirected and lose their intended merit; precision in dharma protects offerings from becoming spiritually ‘wasted’.
The passage belongs to Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya narrative; this verse itself emphasizes śrāddha correctness rather than naming a site.
A warning that, except for the weapon-slain case, performing śrāddha on that day in the wrong mode becomes ‘bhūta-bhojya’; it then transitions to the Viśvedevās petitioning Brahmā.