Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5
सायाह्नस्त्रिमुहूर्तः स्याच्छ्राद्धं तत्र न कारयेत् । राक्षसीनाम सा वेला गर्हिता सर्वकर्मसु
sāyāhnastrimuhūrtaḥ syācchrāddhaṃ tatra na kārayet | rākṣasīnāma sā velā garhitā sarvakarmasu
The sāyāhna, lasting three muhūrtas, should not be used for performing śrāddha. That time is said to belong to the rākṣasīs and is therefore censured for all sacred undertakings.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Purāṇic māhātmya narration style in Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A priest halts a family from beginning śrāddha as the sun slopes west; shadowy rākṣasī figures are hinted at the edge of the scene, while the approved ritual space remains luminous.
FAQs
Rituals bear fruit when performed at dharmically approved times; wrong timing is treated as spiritually inauspicious.
Prabhāsakṣetra, presented as a tīrtha where correct śrāddha procedure and timing are emphasized.
Do not perform śrāddha during the late-afternoon three-muhūrta period (sāyāhna).