Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25
मार्कंडेय उवाच । सत्यमेतन्महाभाग यत्पृष्टोऽस्मि नृपोत्तम । श्राद्धस्य बहवो भेदाः शाखाभेदैर्व्यवस्थिताः
mārkaṃḍeya uvāca | satyametanmahābhāga yatpṛṣṭo'smi nṛpottama | śrāddhasya bahavo bhedāḥ śākhābhedairvyavasthitāḥ
Mārkaṇḍeya dit : C’est bien vrai, ô bienheureux, ô meilleur des rois, que tu m’aies interrogé ainsi ; car le rite du śrāddha comporte de nombreuses formes, établies selon les différences des śākhās védiques.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Listener: Rohitāśva
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya responds with assurance, validating the king’s question and explaining that śrāddha variations arise from different Vedic schools; the assembly relaxes into attentive learning.
FAQs
Dharma accommodates legitimate diversity; ritual differences can be valid when rooted in recognized śākhā-traditions.
No particular tīrtha is named; the Mahātmya here pivots into dharma-teaching on ancestral rites.
That śrāddha has multiple sanctioned forms depending on Vedic śākhā, implying one should follow one’s own tradition.