Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
सोमक्षये विशेषेण शृणुष्वैकमना नृप । अमा नाम रवे रश्मिसहस्रप्रमुखः स्थितः
somakṣaye viśeṣeṇa śṛṇuṣvaikamanā nṛpa | amā nāma rave raśmisahasrapramukhaḥ sthitaḥ
«À présent, écoute d’un esprit recueilli, ô roi, l’enseignement particulier concernant le déclin de la Lune. Dans le Soleil demeure une puissance nommée Amā, la première parmi des milliers de rayons.»
Bhartṛyajña (sage)
Listener: nṛpa (king)
Scene: A sage addresses a king; above them a stylized Sun with countless rays, and the Moon diminishing toward conjunction; the concept of 'Amā' is personified as a subtle solar śakti within the solar disc.
FAQs
Sacred timing is grounded in a Purāṇic cosmology where celestial forces shape ritual potency, especially for Pitṛ-kārya.
No site is named; the verse explains the cosmic basis for Amāvasyā within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra discourse.
It introduces the special importance of performing rites at somakṣaya (Amāvasyā context).