Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 52
गयाश्राद्धं करोत्येकः पितृपक्षे नृपोत्तम । पश्यत्यन्यो हृषीकेशं चातुर्मास्यं समाहितः
gayāśrāddhaṃ karotyekaḥ pitṛpakṣe nṛpottama | paśyatyanyo hṛṣīkeśaṃ cāturmāsyaṃ samāhitaḥ
Ô meilleur des rois, l’un accomplit le Gayā-śrāddha durant Pitṛpakṣa; mais un autre, l’esprit concentré, contemple Hṛṣīkeśa pendant le Cāturmāsya—cela est proclamé comme un mérite plus élevé.
Skanda (deduced; vocative nṛpottama indicates a king as listener, but not named here)
Tirtha: Hṛṣīkeśa-darśana (Cāturmāsya) contrasted with Gayā-śrāddha (Pitṛpakṣa)
Type: kshetra
Listener: nṛpottama (best of kings)
Scene: A royal listener addressed (‘nṛpottama’) while two scenes unfold: pilgrims performing Gayā-śrāddha with piṇḍa offerings on riverbank; and a composed devotee beholding Hṛṣīkeśa in temple during Cāturmāsya, suggesting a higher, more luminous fruit.
FAQs
Honoring ancestors is highly meritorious, yet devotion culminating in the Lord’s darśana is held to be the highest fruit.
Gayā is explicitly referenced for śrāddha; the verse ultimately glorifies Hṛṣīkeśa-darśana during Cāturmāsya.
Gayā-śrāddha performed in Pitṛpakṣa, contrasted with the Cāturmāsya practice of steady devotion leading to Hṛṣīkeśa’s vision.