Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28
श्रुतशीलविहीनाय धर्मज्ञायापि मानवः । श्राद्धं ददाति कन्यां च यस्तेनाग्निं विना हुतम्
śrutaśīlavihīnāya dharmajñāyāpi mānavaḥ | śrāddhaṃ dadāti kanyāṃ ca yastenāgniṃ vinā hutam
ശ്രുതി-വിദ്യയും ശീലവും ഇല്ലാത്തവനോട്—ധർമ്മം അറിയുന്നവനായാലും—ആൾ ശ്രാദ്ധം നൽകുകയോ കന്യാദാനം ചെയ്യുകയോ ചെയ്താൽ, അത് അഗ്നിയില്ലാത്ത ഹോമംപോലെ ഫലരഹിതമാകുന്നു।
Unspecified (normative Purāṇic instruction within Tīrthamāhātmya)
Type: kshetra
Listener: A king addressed as ‘nṛpaśārdūla’ (tiger among kings) in the surrounding passage
Scene: A householder prepares śrāddha offerings; in the foreground a ‘dharma-speaker’ lacking discipline is contrasted with a serene, learned brāhmaṇa; behind them a sacred fire burns—symbolizing that rites without proper ‘agni’ (proper medium/fitness) are futile.
FAQs
Ritual and charity require worthy recipients; knowledge without character (or mere talk of dharma) cannot sustain sacred results.
No specific site is mentioned; the verse gives a general dharma principle applicable to Śrāddha performed anywhere, including tīrthas.
Do not perform Śrāddha (or major gifts like kanyādāna) toward those lacking scriptural learning and good conduct; it is compared to offering without consecrated fire.