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
आदित्याविना न रात्रि, न दिवस, न तर्पणकर्म; न धर्म चालतो, न अधर्म, आणि सर्व चराचर जगत् टिकू शकत नाही।
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.