Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9
ब्राह्मणा ऊचुः । पितरः श्राद्धकामा ये वृद्धिं पश्यंति वा नृप । ते स्वप्ने दर्शनं यांति पुत्राणामिति नः श्रुतम्
brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ | pitaraḥ śrāddhakāmā ye vṛddhiṃ paśyaṃti vā nṛpa | te svapne darśanaṃ yāṃti putrāṇāmiti naḥ śrutam
ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಹೇ ನೃಪಾ! ಶ್ರಾದ್ಧವನ್ನು ಬಯಸುವ ಪಿತೃಗಳು ಅಥವಾ ವೃದ್ಧಿ-ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿಯನ್ನು ಕಂಡಾಗ, ಅವರು ಸ್ವಪ್ನದಲ್ಲಿ ತಮ್ಮ ಪುತ್ರರಿಗೆ ದರ್ಶನ ನೀಡುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂದು ನಾವು ಕೇಳಿದ್ದೇವೆ।
Brahmins
Tirtha: Kūpikā-tīrtha where Gayā is said to abide (as per next verse)
Type: kund
Listener: King (nṛpa; Raghu-line implied)
Scene: A council of brāhmaṇas addresses a king, explaining that ancestors appear in dreams when desiring śrāddha or witnessing prosperity; the mood is solemn, intimate, and instructive.
FAQs
Dream-appearance of ancestors is treated as a dharmic संकेत—often indicating the need for śrāddha and the strengthening of lineage-duty (pitṛ-ṛṇa).
The teaching is delivered within the Pitṛkūpikā episode, implying that this tīrtha is especially potent for pitṛ-related rites and signs.
Śrāddha is indicated as the appropriate response when ancestors ‘desire śrāddha’ and reveal themselves through dreams.