Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 52
मृताहर्यो न जानाति मानवो यदि वा क्वचित् । तेन कार्यममावास्यां श्राद्धं माघेऽथ मार्गके
mṛtāharyo na jānāti mānavo yadi vā kvacit | tena kāryamamāvāsyāṃ śrāddhaṃ māghe'tha mārgake
ஒருவன் மரணத் திதியைத் துல்லியமாக அறியாவிட்டால், அவன் அமாவாசை நாளில் ஸ்ராத்தம் செய்ய வேண்டும்—மாசி (மா) மாதத்தில் அல்லது மார்கழி (மார்கசீர்ஷ) மாதத்தில்.
Śiva (continuing the instruction to Devī/Pārvatī) (deduced from immediate continuity with prior verse)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devī/Pārvatī
Scene: A night-sky amāvāsyā scene at the coast: dark moonless horizon, a devotee performs śrāddha by lamp-light; a calendar strip highlights Māgha and Mārgaśīrṣa as chosen months.
FAQs
Dharma provides compassionate alternatives: even when details are unknown, one can still honor ancestors through prescribed substitute timings.
The rule is transmitted within the Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya, linking correct Pitṛ observance with the sacred authority of Prabhāsa traditions.
If the death-day is unknown, perform śrāddha on Amāvāsyā, or in Māgha, or in Mārgaśīrṣa.