Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 56
उत्सन्नपतृदेवेज्याः स्वकर्मत्यागिनश्च ये । दुःशीला नास्तिकाः पापा न सदा सत्यवादिनः
utsannapatṛdevejyāḥ svakarmatyāginaśca ye | duḥśīlā nāstikāḥ pāpā na sadā satyavādinaḥ
जो पितृ-देव-पूजा को उपेक्षित कर देते हैं, अपने स्वधर्म-कर्म का त्याग करते हैं, दुष्शील, नास्तिक, पापी होते हैं और सदा सत्य बोलने में स्थिर नहीं रहते—वे निंदित माने गए हैं।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Listener: An inquiring sage/assembly (contextual)
Scene: A didactic assembly: a sage-teacher enumerates adharma; in the background, neglected ancestral rites—unlit śrāddha fire, unattended pitṛ-tarpaṇa vessel—contrasted with a devotee maintaining worship and truthfulness.
FAQs
Spiritual life requires fidelity to truth, worship, and svadharma; neglect and denial erode merit and character.
None is named; it is a general dharma-criterion for purity in pilgrimage and worship.
Maintain pitṛ offerings and deva worship and uphold truth; no specific procedure is given here.