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
ബ്രാഹ്മണർ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ നൃപാ! ശ്രാദ്ധം ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്ന പിതൃദേവന്മാർ, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ വർദ്ധി-സമൃദ്ധി കാണുമ്പോൾ, സ്വപ്നത്തിൽ പുത്രന്മാർക്ക് ദർശനം നൽകുന്നു എന്നു ഞങ്ങൾ കേട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു।
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.