Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6
तं तु वाध्रीणसं विद्यात्सर्वयूथाधिपं तथा । खड्गमांसं च वा दद्यात्तृप्तिर्द्वादशवार्षिकी । संजायते न संदेहस्तेषां वाक्यं न मे मृषा
taṃ tu vādhrīṇasaṃ vidyātsarvayūthādhipaṃ tathā | khaḍgamāṃsaṃ ca vā dadyāttṛptirdvādaśavārṣikī | saṃjāyate na saṃdehasteṣāṃ vākyaṃ na me mṛṣā
त्या वाध्रीणसाला सर्व यूथांचा अधिपती असे जाणावे. किंवा खड्ग (गेंडा) याचे मांस दिले तरी पितरांची तृप्ती बारा वर्षे होते—यात संशय नाही. त्यांचे वचन असत्य नाही, आणि माझेही नाही.
Bhartṛyajña
Listener: King Ānarta
Scene: The sage, with firm gesture, declares the certainty of twelve-year pitṛ satisfaction; symbolic animals (rhinoceros/‘khaḍga’ motif and a herd-leader emblem) appear as iconographic cues, while the ritual setting remains central.
FAQs
The Purāṇa asserts the reliability of its ritual prescriptions, framing them as trustworthy dharma that yields definite fruits.
The broader discourse belongs to Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya; this verse itself focuses on Śrāddha offerings.
Offering vādhrīṇasa or khaḍga meat in Śrāddha is said to grant twelve-year satisfaction to the Pitṛs.