Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 53
मासेन च मनुष्याणामहोरात्रं च पैतृकम् । कृष्णपक्षस्त्वहः प्रोक्तः शुक्लपक्षश्च शर्वरी
māsena ca manuṣyāṇāmahorātraṃ ca paitṛkam | kṛṣṇapakṣastvahaḥ proktaḥ śuklapakṣaśca śarvarī
For humans, a month is a single day-and-night (ahorātra) for the Pitṛs, the ancestral beings: the kṛṣṇa-pakṣa, the dark fortnight, is said to be their day, and the śukla-pakṣa, the bright fortnight, their night.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative convention)
Scene: A riverside ghāṭa at dusk: a householder offers tarpaṇa with water in cupped hands; above, a subtle overlay shows Pitṛs experiencing kṛṣṇa-pakṣa as ‘day’ and śukla-pakṣa as ‘night’ with moon waxing/waning.
FAQs
Human time is not absolute; Dharma includes honoring the Pitṛs by understanding their distinct cosmic rhythm.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it teaches a cosmological framework often used to support śrāddha and pitṛ-tarpaṇa observances.
No direct ritual is prescribed here, but the mapping underlies pitṛ-related rites (śrāddha/tarpaṇa) timed by pakṣa and lunar month.