Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 17
संध्याकाले च मंदेहाः सूर्यमिच्छंति खादितुम् । प्रजापतिकृतः शापस्तेषां फाल्गुन रक्षसाम्
saṃdhyākāle ca maṃdehāḥ sūryamicchaṃti khāditum | prajāpatikṛtaḥ śāpasteṣāṃ phālguna rakṣasām
À l’heure du crépuscule, les démons Māndehā désirent dévorer le Soleil. Ô Phālguna, telle est la malédiction que Prajāpati a prononcée contre ces rākṣasas.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa frame)
Tirtha: Saṅdhyā-tīrtha (liminal time-junction)
Type: ghat
Listener: Phālguna (Arjuna)
Scene: At dusk, the Sun low on the horizon; shadowy Māndehā rākṣasas surge upward to swallow the solar disc; a sage/householder offers arghya, forming a luminous shield; Prajāpati in the background as the source of the curse.
FAQs
Twilight is a liminal, spiritually charged time; neglect of dharmic discipline is portrayed as enabling darkness, while right practice supports cosmic order.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on the universal sandhyā-time and the Sun’s cosmic station.
Not yet explicitly in this verse; subsequent verses connect sandhyā worship and Gāyatrī-purified water to the defeat of these beings.