Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 13
न दिवा न भवेद्रात्रिः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् । अयनं चोत्तरं चापि भास्करेण विना नृप
na divā na bhavedrātriḥ ṣaṇmāsā dakṣiṇāyanam | ayanaṃ cottaraṃ cāpi bhāskareṇa vinā nṛpa
Ô Roi, sans Bhāskara il n’y aurait ni jour ni nuit, ni la marche de six mois du dakṣiṇāyana ; pas même l’uttarāyana n’existerait.
Deductive: Purāṇic narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa) within Revā Khaṇḍa
Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: nṛpa (king) addressed in the verse
Scene: A cosmic diagram-like scene: the Sun at center with arcs indicating day/night and the two ayanas; a king listens to a sage explaining the solar governance of time.
FAQs
Time and sacred seasons are Sun-governed; dharma’s calendar rests on Sūrya’s motion and presence.
No specific tirtha is named; the verse provides cosmological grounding for timing pilgrimages and vows.
No direct prescription; it implies that rites tied to ayanas and seasons depend on honoring the Sun.