Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9
गोष्ठ्यां समागता ये तु तेषां पापं कुतः स्मृतम् । मातृपूजा गयाश्राद्धं सुतीर्थगमनं तथा । जागरस्य नृणां राजन्समानि कवयो विदुः
goṣṭhyāṃ samāgatā ye tu teṣāṃ pāpaṃ kutaḥ smṛtam | mātṛpūjā gayāśrāddhaṃ sutīrthagamanaṃ tathā | jāgarasya nṛṇāṃ rājansamāni kavayo viduḥ
Mereka yang berhimpun dalam pertemuan suci—bagaimana mungkin dosa disebut bagi mereka? Pemujaan Ibu, śrāddha di Gayā, dan ziarah ke tīrtha-tīrtha utama—para kawi mengetahui, wahai Raja, semuanya setara dengan berjaga suci itu bagi manusia.
Skanda (deduced; direct address 'rājan' indicates instruction to a king within the narrative frame)
Tirtha: Dvārakā (jāgara-gōṣṭhī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Rājā (rājann)
Scene: A royal listener hears sages praise a Dvārakā vigil assembly; behind them, a vibrant gōṣṭhī with lamps and kīrtana; symbolic vignettes of Gayā-śrāddha and tīrtha-travel appear as smaller panels to show equivalence.
FAQs
Company in devotional gatherings and the practice of jāgaraṇa are praised as highly meritorious, comparable to famed rites and pilgrimages.
Dvārakā is the chapter’s setting, while Gayā is explicitly referenced as a benchmark tīrtha for śrāddha.
Joining the devotional assembly (goṣṭhī) and performing jāgaraṇa; also references to mātṛpūjā and Gayā-śrāddha as comparable meritorious acts.