Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 51
माघ्यां यदि गयाश्राद्धं पितॄणां यच्छते नरः । त्रयाणामपि देवानां चतुर्थः स प्रजायते
māghyāṃ yadi gayāśrāddhaṃ pitṝṇāṃ yacchate naraḥ | trayāṇāmapi devānāṃ caturthaḥ sa prajāyate
หากในเดือนมาฆะ บุรุษผู้หนึ่งถวายคยา-ศราทธะเพื่อปิตฤของตน เขาย่อมประหนึ่งเป็น “องค์ที่สี่” ท่ามกลางเทพสามหมู่ ได้บังเกิดสู่ฐานะทิพย์
Sūta (deduced, Prabhāsakhaṇḍa narrative style)
Tirtha: Gayā-tīrtha
Type: kshetra
Scene: A Māgha morning at Gayā: priests on riverbank guiding a householder offering piṇḍas and sesame-water tarpaṇa; ancestral figures receive offerings; above, a radiant celestial assembly hints at the performer’s elevation to divine rank.
FAQs
Ancestral service (śrāddha) performed at the right sacred time is portrayed as a direct cause of divine elevation.
Gayā is invoked through the term ‘Gayā-śrāddha,’ indicating the famed ancestral rite associated with Gayā.
Performing Gayā-śrāddha for the Pitṛs during the month of Māgha.