Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 54
मानुषेण च वर्षेण दैविको दिवसः स्मृतः । अहस्तत्रो दगयनं रात्रिः स्याद्दक्षिणायनम्
mānuṣeṇa ca varṣeṇa daiviko divasaḥ smṛtaḥ | ahastatro dagayanaṃ rātriḥ syāddakṣiṇāyanam
Ein Menschenjahr gilt als ein einziger Tag der Götter. In diesem göttlichen Tag ist die Uttarāyaṇa (der Lauf nach Norden) ihr Tag, und die Dakṣiṇāyana (der Lauf nach Süden) ihre Nacht.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative convention)
Scene: A grand solar chariot arcs across a split sky: the northern arc labeled uttarāyaṇa glowing as ‘day of the gods,’ the southern arc labeled dakṣiṇāyana shaded as ‘night’; pilgrims below time their journey by the sun’s course.
FAQs
Sacred time (kāla) is hierarchical; aligning life and rites with cosmic cycles is part of Purāṇic Dharma.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse provides cosmological time doctrine used broadly across tīrtha and vrata traditions.
No explicit prescription; the uttarāyaṇa/dakṣiṇāyana division often informs auspicious timing (muhūrta) and observances.