Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12
षण्मासमयने भुंक्ते त्रीन्मासान्विषुवे स्मृतम् । वर्षैर्द्वादशभिश्चैव यत्पुण्यं समुपार्जितम् । तत्सर्वं विलयं याति भुक्त्वा सूर्येन्दुसंप्लवे
ṣaṇmāsamayane bhuṃkte trīnmāsānviṣuve smṛtam | varṣairdvādaśabhiścaiva yatpuṇyaṃ samupārjitam | tatsarvaṃ vilayaṃ yāti bhuktvā sūryendusaṃplave
Si l’on mange au temps de l’ayāna (tournant solsticial), on dit que l’on consume le mérite de six mois ; au viṣuva (équinoxe), celui de trois mois. Et tout mérite amassé durant douze années—en mangeant lors d’une éclipse solaire ou lunaire—s’anéantit entièrement.
Sūta (deduced: Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa narrative style within Māhātmya sections)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage audience seeking niyamas
Scene: A coastal temple town under an eclipse: sun and moon overlapped; pilgrims stand in snāna and japa while a cautionary figure turns away from food; a symbolic heap of ‘merit’ dissolves into mist when eating occurs at grahaṇa.
FAQs
Times of cosmic transition (ayana, viṣuva, eclipse) demand restraint; heedlessness can destroy long-earned puṇya.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the broader sacred setting; the verse frames dharma-rules relevant to its Māhātmya context.
A prohibition/strong warning against eating at ayana, viṣuva, and especially during eclipses.