Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25
श्राद्धकाले नरो भक्त्या यश्चैतत्पठति स्वयम् । स गयाश्राद्धजं कृत्स्नं फलमाप्नोत्यसंशयम्
śrāddhakāle naro bhaktyā yaścaitatpaṭhati svayam | sa gayāśrāddhajaṃ kṛtsnaṃ phalamāpnotyasaṃśayam
श्राद्धकाळी जो नर भक्तिभावाने हे स्वतः पठण करतो, तो निःसंशय गयाश्राद्धातून उत्पन्न होणारे संपूर्ण पुण्यफल प्राप्त करतो।
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic speaker not explicit in this verse)
Tirtha: Gayā (as comparative phala); local Nāgara-khaṇḍa tīrtha implied
Type: kshetra
Scene: A householder at a śrāddha setting recites a sacred passage with folded hands; pitṛs are envisioned receiving offerings; a distant silhouette of Gayā’s sacred landscape appears as a symbolic comparison.
FAQs
Devotional recitation connected to a tīrtha-māhātmya can confer pilgrimage-level merit when aligned with ritual time (śrāddha-kāla).
Gayā is referenced as the benchmark for śrāddha merit, while the recited content pertains to Rāmahrada’s māhātmya.
During śrāddha time, recite this māhātmya/devotional passage to gain the full fruit akin to Gayā-śrāddha.