Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21
अहोरात्रं मुहूर्तेन मुहूर्तं तु कलाहतम् । कलां काष्ठा हतां कृत्वा काष्ठां निमिषभाजिताम्
ahorātraṃ muhūrtena muhūrtaṃ tu kalāhatam | kalāṃ kāṣṭhā hatāṃ kṛtvā kāṣṭhāṃ nimiṣabhājitām
اليوم والليلة يُحسَبان بالمُهورتا؛ والمُهورتا تُقسَّم إلى كَلا. وتُقسَّم الكَلا إلى كاشتها، وتُقسَّم الكاشتها إلى نِميشا—وهكذا يُقاس الزمان.
Śiva
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devī
Scene: A schematic ‘time ladder’ descending from day-night to ever-smaller units, shown as concentric circles or steps; a pilgrim with prayer beads marks muhūrtas near a coastal shrine.
FAQs
Time is sacredly structured; mindfulness of its divisions supports disciplined worship and dharmic living.
Prabhāsa Kṣetra is the setting; the Māhātmya uses time-reckoning to ground sacred observances in cosmic order.
No specific rite is commanded, but the units named are foundational for timing japa, pūjā, vrata, and snāna.