Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3
नादित्येन विना रात्रिर्न दिवा न च तर्पणम् । न धर्मो वै न चाधर्मो न संतिष्ठेच्चराचरम्
nādityena vinā rātrirna divā na ca tarpaṇam | na dharmo vai na cādharmo na saṃtiṣṭheccarācaram
ആദിത്യനില്ലാതെ രാത്രി ഇല്ല, പകലും ഇല്ല, തർപ്പണാദി കർമങ്ങളും ഇല്ല; ധർമ്മവും അധർമ്മവും പ്രവർത്തിക്കുകയില്ല, സർവ്വ ചരാചര ലോകവും നിലനിൽക്കുകയുമില്ല।
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
Scene: A cosmic tableau: the Sun absent, the world dim and unmoored—no dawn, no dusk, rites halted; beings (moving and unmoving) fade, emphasizing the Sun as the axle of time and dharma.
FAQs
Dharma and ritual life are inseparable from cosmic order; honoring Sūrya is honoring the very condition that makes moral and ritual action possible.
Indirectly, Arkasthala/Prabhāsakṣetra is elevated by presenting Sūrya as universally indispensable, justifying his special worship there.
Tarpaṇa is referenced as a rite that depends upon the Sun’s presence (day/time), though the procedure is not detailed in this verse.