Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 185
चिंतयामास दुःखार्तः कथं कार्यं मया भवेत् । इत्येवं चिंतयानस्य मतिर्जाता महात्मनः । पुत्रः स कथ्यते लोके पितरं त्रायते तु यः
ciṃtayāmāsa duḥkhārtaḥ kathaṃ kāryaṃ mayā bhavet | ityevaṃ ciṃtayānasya matirjātā mahātmanaḥ | putraḥ sa kathyate loke pitaraṃ trāyate tu yaḥ
दुःखाने व्याकुळ होऊन तो विचार करू लागला—“माझ्याकडून काय करणे योग्य?” असे चिंतन करत असता त्या महात्म्याच्या मनात उत्तम निश्चय झाला—जो पित्याचे त्राण करतो तोच जगात ‘पुत्र’ म्हणून ओळखला जातो।
Narrator (contextual)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: The king sits in sorrowful contemplation, hands to chest or forehead, then his face brightens with a firm dharmic resolve as the maxim about a true son arises within him.
FAQs
A son’s highest dharma is to work for his father’s protection and spiritual uplift—ultimately, his liberation.
The broader frame is Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya (Prabhāsa region), setting up a pilgrimage-based means for pitṛ-mokṣa.
No specific rite is stated here; it establishes the ethical principle that motivates later tīrtha-yātrā and acts for the father’s release.