Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 77
श्राद्धं गंगार्णवे चात्र मत्पितॄणां त्वमाचर । अहं चैवापि तपसः संचितस्यापि जन्मना । चतुर्भागं प्रदास्यामि एवमेवैतदाचर
śrāddhaṃ gaṃgārṇave cātra matpitṝṇāṃ tvamācara | ahaṃ caivāpi tapasaḥ saṃcitasyāpi janmanā | caturbhāgaṃ pradāsyāmi evamevaitadācara
ഇവിടെ ഗംഗാർണവത്തിൽ എന്റെ പിതൃക്കളുടെ ശ്രാദ്ധം നീ ആചരിക്കൂ. ഞാൻ ജന്മാന്തം തപസ്സാൽ സമ്പാദിച്ച പുണ്യത്തിന്റെ ചതുർത്ഥഭാഗം നിനക്കു നൽകും. അതുപോലെ തന്നേ ചെയ്യുക—ഇത് നിർവ്വഹിക്കൂ.
Devaśarman
Tirtha: Gaṅgārṇava
Type: tirtha
Listener: Nārada (addressed later in the sequence)
Scene: At Gaṅgārṇava’s sacred waters, a sage instructs a devotee to perform pitṛ-śrāddha; the atmosphere is ritualistic—kuśa grass, piṇḍas, water-offerings, and a solemn promise of sharing tapas-merit (one-fourth).
FAQs
Pitṛ-dharma performed at a sacred Gaṅgā tīrtha brings great benefit, and spiritual merit can be shared through righteous intention.
Gaṅgārṇava, a Gaṅgā-associated sacred place where śrāddha for ancestors is prescribed.
Perform śrāddha for the speaker’s ancestors at Gaṅgārṇava; the speaker promises one-fourth of his accumulated tapas-merit in return.