Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 94
विधिनापि कृता संध्या कालातीता ऽफला भवेत् । अयमेव हि दृष्टांतो वंध्यास्त्रीमैथुनं यथा
vidhināpi kṛtā saṃdhyā kālātītā 'phalā bhavet | ayameva hi dṛṣṭāṃto vaṃdhyāstrīmaithunaṃ yathā
Même accomplie selon la règle, la Sandhyā célébrée hors de son temps devient sans fruit ; tel en est l’exemple : comme l’union avec une femme stérile.
Traditional Purāṇic narrator (contextual instruction within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa; speaker not explicit in the snippet)
Tirtha: Sandhyā-kāla
Type: kshetra
Scene: A devotee performs Sandhyā after the Sun has already set; the sky is dark, the arghya stream falls dull and unlit; beside it, a symbolic barren vine/empty womb motif conveys aphalatā (fruitlessness).
FAQs
Ritual correctness includes timeliness; missing the sacred window undermines the intended spiritual fruit.
No single tīrtha is named; the verse functions as dharma-guidance within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa.
Perform Sandhyā within its proper time; doing it late is declared ineffective.