Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41
मृताश्च पुरुषा विप्र स्वकर्मजनितां गतिम् । गच्छन्ति ते कथं तस्य सुतस्याश्रयमाययुः
mṛtāśca puruṣā vipra svakarmajanitāṃ gatim | gacchanti te kathaṃ tasya sutasyāśrayamāyayuḥ
ഹേ വിപ്രാ! മരിച്ച പുരുഷന്മാർ സ്വകർമ്മജനിതമായ ഗതിയിലേക്കാണ് പോകുന്നത്; എങ്കിൽ അവർ പുത്രന്റെ ആശ്രയം—അവൻ ചെയ്യുന്ന ശ്രാദ്ധാദി സഹായം—എങ്ങനെ പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു?
Ānarta
Type: kshetra
Listener: vipra (addressed); assembly/king implied by later verses
Scene: A questioning assembly addresses a learned brāhmaṇa: the dead follow their own karma—how can a son’s rites become their ‘support’ (āśraya)?
FAQs
It raises the classic dharma question: if karma determines destiny, in what way can descendant-offered rites benefit the departed—preparing for a Purāṇic reconciliation of karma and ritual merit.
No site is specified; the verse is philosophical groundwork within a tirtha-mahātmya narrative frame.
Śrāddha is implied as a son’s supportive duty toward ancestors; the verse asks how such support is possible given karmic destiny.