Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 54
मानुषेण च वर्षेण दैविको दिवसः स्मृतः । अहस्तत्रो दगयनं रात्रिः स्याद्दक्षिणायनम्
mānuṣeṇa ca varṣeṇa daiviko divasaḥ smṛtaḥ | ahastatro dagayanaṃ rātriḥ syāddakṣiṇāyanam
മനുഷ്യരുടെ ഒരു വർഷം ദേവന്മാരുടെ ഒരു ദിവസമായി സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു. ആ ദിവ്യദിവസത്തിൽ ഉത്തരായണം അവരുടെ ‘പകൽ’, ദക്ഷിണായണം അവരുടെ ‘രാത്രി’ എന്നു പറയുന്നു.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative convention)
Scene: A grand solar chariot arcs across a split sky: the northern arc labeled uttarāyaṇa glowing as ‘day of the gods,’ the southern arc labeled dakṣiṇāyana shaded as ‘night’; pilgrims below time their journey by the sun’s course.
FAQs
Sacred time (kāla) is hierarchical; aligning life and rites with cosmic cycles is part of Purāṇic Dharma.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse provides cosmological time doctrine used broadly across tīrtha and vrata traditions.
No explicit prescription; the uttarāyaṇa/dakṣiṇāyana division often informs auspicious timing (muhūrta) and observances.