Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11
अर्धरात्रे विधानेन तेषां पूजां करोति यः । प्रागुक्तं जपनं भक्त्या स क्रमात्साधकोत्तमः
ardharātre vidhānena teṣāṃ pūjāṃ karoti yaḥ | prāguktaṃ japanaṃ bhaktyā sa kramātsādhakottamaḥ
जो विधिपूर्वक अर्धरात्री त्यांच्या पूजा करतो आणि पूर्वोक्त जप भक्तीने करतो—तो क्रमाने साधकांमध्ये उत्तम होतो।
Sūta
Type: kshetra
Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (addressed audience)
Scene: At midnight, a devotee performs ritual worship before sacred emblems (liṅga/associated deities), then sits for mantra-japa; lamps burn low, shadows deepen, the rite feels charged and secret.
FAQs
Bhakti combined with correct ritual discipline (vidhi) matures the aspirant into a superior sādhaka.
The verse pertains to the liṅga complex described in Adhyāya 154; the tīrtha name is not stated in this excerpt.
Midnight worship (ardharātra-pūjā) and the previously taught japa are prescribed.