Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 78
अन्योऽपि मर्त्यलोकेत्र यः करिष्यति मानवः । मकरस्थे रवौ मह्यं संक्रांतौ रजनीमुखे । स नूनं मद्गणो भावी सकृत्कृत्वाऽथ कंबलम्
anyo'pi martyaloketra yaḥ kariṣyati mānavaḥ | makarasthe ravau mahyaṃ saṃkrāṃtau rajanīmukhe | sa nūnaṃ madgaṇo bhāvī sakṛtkṛtvā'tha kaṃbalam
Et tout autre homme, dans le monde des mortels, qui accomplira cela pour Moi—lorsque le Soleil sera en Makara (Capricorne), au moment de la saṅkrānti, à l’orée de la nuit—celui-là deviendra assurément mon gaṇa, fût-ce en l’accomplissant une seule fois : la confection ou l’offrande du kambala (couverture de ghee sacré).
Śiva
Type: kshetra
Listener: The devotee and, by extension, future practitioners (any mānava)
Scene: At dusk on Makara-saṅkrānti, a devotee offers a kambala (blanket) with ghee association to Śiva; the sky shows the sun’s transition symbolism, lamps are lit, and gaṇa-figures appear as auspicious omens.
FAQs
A single, correctly-timed act of devotion and charity, offered to Śiva with sincerity, is declared powerful enough to transform one’s spiritual destiny.
The emphasis is on the calendrical sacred time (Makara-saṅkrānti) rather than a named geography in this verse.
Perform ghṛta-kaṃbala-related offering/charity for Śiva at Makara-saṅkrānti, specifically at rajanīmukha (evening/onset of night).