Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 27
ये चादग्धाः कुले बालाः स्त्रियो याश्चाप्यसंस्कृताः । विपन्नास्ते तु विकिरसंमार्जनसुलालसाः
ye cādagdhāḥ kule bālāḥ striyo yāścāpyasaṃskṛtāḥ | vipannāste tu vikirasaṃmārjanasulālasāḥ
குலத்தில் தகனம் செய்யப்படாத குழந்தைகளும், விதிச் சடங்குகள் பெறாத பெண்களும் துன்பநிலையடைந்தால், சிதறிய மீதங்களையும் துடைப்பின் சுரண்டல்களையும் கூட ஆவலுடன் நாடுகின்றனர்.
Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa māhātmya narration style)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Implied younger addressee (putraka) continuing from prior verses
Scene: A śrāddha ground after offerings: scattered rice and sweepings; in the liminal space, distressed subtle beings—uncremated children and uninitiated women—reach toward the remnants, conveying the pathos of neglected rites.
FAQs
Neglect of final rites leaves beings distressed; hence offerings and proper saṃskāras are acts of compassion and dharma.
The broader Prabhāsa-kṣetra context, where Śrāddha and related rites are praised as especially efficacious.
It underscores the necessity of antyeṣṭi/saṃskāras and the potency of Śrāddha offerings—even their remnants—for the afflicted departed.