Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1
आनर्तौवाच । श्रुता मया महाभाग श्राद्धार्हा ब्राह्मणाश्च ये । ये च त्याज्यास्तथा पुत्रा बहवश्चैव सुव्रत
ānartauvāca | śrutā mayā mahābhāga śrāddhārhā brāhmaṇāśca ye | ye ca tyājyāstathā putrā bahavaścaiva suvrata
Ānartā berkata: “Wahai yang mulia, aku telah mendengar tentang para Brāhmaṇa yang layak menerima Śrāddha, dan juga mereka yang patut dijauhi; demikian juga aku telah mendengar tentang banyak jenis anak (berkaitan dengan upacara)—wahai engkau yang berikrar mulia.”
Ānartā
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (outer frame, implied)
Scene: Ānartā, dignified and inquisitive, addresses the sage Bhartṛyajña in a tīrtha-āśrama near a Śiva shrine; palm-leaf texts and ritual items indicate the śrāddha topic.
FAQs
Śrāddha is not mere formality; it requires knowledge of dharmic eligibility so the rite truly benefits the ancestors.
The broader setting is Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya, though this verse itself is introductory dialogue.
It introduces the topic of eligibility (ārha/tyājya) for Śrāddha recipients and related familial categories, preparing for the procedural teaching.