Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54
प्रत्यक्षरूपिणः सर्वे द्विजोपांते समाश्रिताः । विश्वेदेवा न संप्राप्ता ये गयायां गतास्तदा
pratyakṣarūpiṇaḥ sarve dvijopāṃte samāśritāḥ | viśvedevā na saṃprāptā ye gayāyāṃ gatāstadā
അവർ എല്ലാവരും പ്രത്യക്ഷരൂപത്തിൽ ദ്വിജന്റെ (ബ്രാഹ്മണന്റെ) സമീപത്ത് ഇരിപ്പുറപ്പിച്ചു; എന്നാൽ ആ സമയത്ത് വിശ്വേദേവന്മാർ വന്നില്ല, കാരണം അവർ ഗയയിലേക്കു പോയിരുന്നു.
Purāṇic narrator (contextual narrator in Tīrtha-māhātmya)
Tirtha: Gayā (śrāddha-vedī vicinity)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Pitṛs stand visibly near the officiating brāhmaṇa and the yajamāna; the space feels charged, yet the Viśvedevas are absent from the immediate scene, suggested as moving elsewhere in Gayā—creating a narrative pause before resolution.
FAQs
Ritual order matters: certain deities (Viśvedevas) have prescribed roles, and their absence disrupts the rite.
Gayā is explicitly named as the destination associated with the Viśvedevas.
The presence/participation of Viśvedevas is treated as an expected component of śrāddha proceedings.