Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 66
पितृवंशे मृता ये च मातृवंशे तथैव च । अतीतगोत्रजास्तेभ्यः पिंडोऽयमुपतिष्ठतु
pitṛvaṃśe mṛtā ye ca mātṛvaṃśe tathaiva ca | atītagotrajāstebhyaḥ piṃḍo'yamupatiṣṭhatu
தந்தை வம்சத்தில் இறந்தவர்களுக்கும், அதுபோலத் தாய் வம்சத்தில் இறந்தவர்களுக்கும், கடந்த காலத்தில் மறைந்துபோன கோத்திரத்தவர்களுக்கும்—இந்த பிண்டம் அர்ப்பணமாகட்டும்।
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic instruction; this functions as the piṇḍa-mantra segment)
Listener: (Contextual) a deva addressed as ‘surasattama’ in adjacent verses; also the human audience of the Purāṇa
Scene: A householder at a riverbank or tīrtha platform offers a rounded piṇḍa with folded hands, mentally invoking paternal and maternal ancestors; faint ancestral silhouettes receive the offering in a calm, twilight atmosphere.
FAQs
Ancestral duty embraces both paternal and maternal lines, extending even to forgotten or unknown branches.
The mantra is given in the Dharmāraṇya/Lohayiṣṭakā ritual context implied by the surrounding verses.
A piṇḍa offering dedicated inclusively to deceased ancestors of both lines, including those of past/unknown gotras.