Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 25
Mārkaṇḍeya-varṇanam
The Description of Mārkaṇḍeya
उत्तरं दिवसं प्राहू रात्रिर्वै दक्षिणायनम् । मानुषेणैव मासेन पितॄणां दिनमुच्यते ॥ २५ ॥
uttaraṃ divasaṃ prāhū rātrirvai dakṣiṇāyanam | mānuṣeṇaiva māsena pitṝṇāṃ dinamucyate || 25 ||
On déclare que l’uttarāyaṇa (la course vers le nord) est le jour, et que le dakṣiṇāyana (la course vers le sud) est, en vérité, la nuit. Et par un seul mois humain se mesure le « jour » des Pitṛs, les ancêtres.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: none
FAQs
It reframes time as relative across realms: what humans count as months and solar courses become the day–night rhythm for the Pitṛs, grounding ancestor worship (pitṛ-yajña/śrāddha) in a cosmic order (kāla).
By situating human life within divine time-scales, it encourages reverent remembrance—devotional duty toward ancestors and alignment with dharma—supporting a disciplined, God-centered life where rituals and remembrance become acts of devotion.
Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa (astronomical time-reckoning): uttarāyaṇa/dakṣiṇāyana as calendrical divisions and the principle that ritual timing and cosmological time units differ for various beings, relevant to planning śrāddha and pitṛ rites.