Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 117
एतस्मात्कारणाद्रक्षा क्रियते भस्मसम्भवा । विप्राणां भोज्यपात्रेषु श्राद्धे कूष्मांडजाद्भयात् । नागराणां न वांछंति श्राद्धे छिद्रं यतः शृणु
etasmātkāraṇādrakṣā kriyate bhasmasambhavā | viprāṇāṃ bhojyapātreṣu śrāddhe kūṣmāṃḍajādbhayāt | nāgarāṇāṃ na vāṃchaṃti śrāddhe chidraṃ yataḥ śṛṇu
ด้วยเหตุนี้จึงประกอบพิธีคุ้มครองอันเกิดจากเถ้าถ่าน—ด้วยความหวาดเกรงภัยที่กำเนิดจากกูษมาณฑะ—ลงบนภาชนะอาหารของพราหมณ์ในคราวศราทธะ. เพราะฉะนั้นชาวนาคระจึงไม่ปรารถนาให้มี ‘ช่องโหว่’ (ความบกพร่อง) ในศราทธะ; จงฟังเหตุเถิด
Narrator (contextual; not explicitly marked in this verse)
Scene: A śrāddha setting: brāhmaṇas seated for bhojana; vessels are being marked/protected with sacred ash; subtle shadowy Kūṣmāṇḍa influence is implied as a threat to ritual purity; Nāgara householders are vigilant.
FAQs
Śrāddha demands meticulous purity and protection; even subtle ritual faults are treated as spiritually consequential.
The teaching belongs to the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya stream tied to the Gayākūpī sacred account in this chapter.
A bhasma-based protective measure (rakṣā) is applied regarding vessels used to feed brāhmaṇas during śrāddha, to avert Kūṣmāṇḍa-related harm and avoid ritual ‘chidra’ (defect).