Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 156
ते तृप्तास्तर्पयन्त्यस्य पूर्वजान्यत्र संस्थितान् । एवं स्वानां चोपतिष्ठेच्छ्राद्धं यच्छंति ते वरान्
te tṛptāstarpayantyasya pūrvajānyatra saṃsthitān | evaṃ svānāṃ copatiṣṭhecchrāddhaṃ yacchaṃti te varān
جب وہ سیر و راضی ہو جاتے ہیں تو وہ اس شخص کے اُن پیش رو اجداد کو بھی—جو اپنے اپنے لوک میں مقیم ہیں—سیراب کرتے ہیں۔ اس لیے اپنے خاندان کے لیے طریقے کے مطابق شرادھ کرنا چاہیے؛ تب وہ برکتیں عطا کرتے ہیں۔
Mahākāla
Listener: a king
Scene: A layered ancestral chain: the performer’s offering rises to satisfied pitṛs, who then send nourishment further back to earlier forebears; finally blessings descend as light upon the family, symbolizing boons granted.
FAQs
Śrāddha works through a chain of satisfaction: higher Pitṛs become pleased and nourish earlier ancestors, culminating in blessings for the performer.
No site is specified; the emphasis is on the ritual’s intergenerational efficacy.
One should perform Śrāddha for one’s own ancestral line, with tarpaṇa (satiating offerings) as the operative principle.