Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5
सायाह्नस्त्रिमुहूर्तः स्याच्छ्राद्धं तत्र न कारयेत् । राक्षसीनाम सा वेला गर्हिता सर्वकर्मसु
sāyāhnastrimuhūrtaḥ syācchrāddhaṃ tatra na kārayet | rākṣasīnāma sā velā garhitā sarvakarmasu
Le sāyāhna (fin d’après-midi), d’une durée de trois muhūrtas, ne doit pas être choisi pour accomplir le śrāddha. On dit que ce temps appartient aux rākṣasīs ; il est donc blâmé pour toute action sacrée.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Purāṇic māhātmya narration style in Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A priest halts a family from beginning śrāddha as the sun slopes west; shadowy rākṣasī figures are hinted at the edge of the scene, while the approved ritual space remains luminous.
FAQs
Rituals bear fruit when performed at dharmically approved times; wrong timing is treated as spiritually inauspicious.
Prabhāsakṣetra, presented as a tīrtha where correct śrāddha procedure and timing are emphasized.
Do not perform śrāddha during the late-afternoon three-muhūrta period (sāyāhna).