Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32
श्राद्धमिदुक्षयेऽवश्यं सदा कार्यं विपश्चिता । यदि ज्येष्ठतमः सर्गः सन्तानं च तथा नृप
śrāddhamidukṣaye'vaśyaṃ sadā kāryaṃ vipaścitā | yadi jyeṣṭhatamaḥ sargaḥ santānaṃ ca tathā nṛpa
इन्दुक्षयेऽवश्यं श्राद्धं सदा कार्यं विपश्चिता; एष ज्येष्ठतमो धर्मः सर्गस्य सन्तानस्य च, नृप।
Unspecified (narrative voice addressing a king within the Tīrthamāhātmya context)
Type: ghat
Listener: Mahārāja (king)
Scene: A lunar disk fading into darkness above a riverbank; a householder with kuśa ring offers water (añjali) toward the south; family members stand respectfully; the sage’s injunction echoes as a caption-like presence.
FAQs
The new-moon time is especially fit for honoring ancestors; wise householders should not neglect Śrāddha, as it supports dharma and the continuity of the family line.
The verse sits within a Tīrthamāhātmya setting, emphasizing the sacred context of performing pitṛ-rites at holy places, though this particular line highlights the timing (amāvāsyā) more than naming a single tirtha.
Perform Śrāddha specifically at indukṣaya (the Moon’s waning/new moon), presented as an obligatory ancestral duty for the wise.
Read Skanda Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.