Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41
मृताश्च पुरुषा विप्र स्वकर्मजनितां गतिम् । गच्छन्ति ते कथं तस्य सुतस्याश्रयमाययुः
mṛtāśca puruṣā vipra svakarmajanitāṃ gatim | gacchanti te kathaṃ tasya sutasyāśrayamāyayuḥ
اے برہمن! جب مرے ہوئے لوگ اپنے ہی اعمال سے پیدا ہونے والی گتی کو پاتے ہیں، تو پھر وہ اُس پُتر کے آسرا (اُس کے کیے ہوئے شرادھ وغیرہ کے ذریعے) پر کیسے آ جاتے ہیں؟
Ānarta
Type: kshetra
Listener: vipra (addressed); assembly/king implied by later verses
Scene: A questioning assembly addresses a learned brāhmaṇa: the dead follow their own karma—how can a son’s rites become their ‘support’ (āśraya)?
FAQs
It raises the classic dharma question: if karma determines destiny, in what way can descendant-offered rites benefit the departed—preparing for a Purāṇic reconciliation of karma and ritual merit.
No site is specified; the verse is philosophical groundwork within a tirtha-mahātmya narrative frame.
Śrāddha is implied as a son’s supportive duty toward ancestors; the verse asks how such support is possible given karmic destiny.