Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18
उदङ्मुखस्तु देवानां पितॄणां दक्षिणामुखः । अग्निना भस्मना वापि यवेनाप्युदकेन वा । द्वारसंक्रमणेनापि पंक्तिदोषो न विद्यते
udaṅmukhastu devānāṃ pitṝṇāṃ dakṣiṇāmukhaḥ | agninā bhasmanā vāpi yavenāpyudakena vā | dvārasaṃkramaṇenāpi paṃktidoṣo na vidyate
Pour les rites aux Devas, il est prescrit de faire face au nord, et pour les rites aux Pitṛs, de faire face au sud. Et même si l’acte purificatoire se fait par le feu, la cendre, l’orge, l’eau, ou ne serait-ce qu’en franchissant un seuil, aucun « paṅkti-doṣa »—défaut d’impureté touchant la ligne du repas rituel—ne survient.
Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya narrative style)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A ritual hall near a coastal shrine: one group faces north offering to devas; another faces south offering to pitṛs. A doorway stands prominent; a participant crosses the threshold after sprinkling water/holding ash, then joins a seated dining line without defect.
FAQs
Dharma is protected by correct intention and simple purifications; sacred rites for Devas and Pitṛs remain valid when performed with prescribed orientation and cleansing.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhās). The chapter frames these śrāddha-rules as especially authoritative within this sacred geography.
Face north for Deva-rites and south for Pitṛ-rites; purify using fire, ash, barley, water, or even by crossing a threshold—thereby avoiding paṅkti-doṣa.