Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44
सैंहिकेयो यदा चंद्रं ग्रसते पर्वसंधिषु । हस्तिच्छाया तु सा ज्ञेया तस्यां श्राद्धं समाचरेत्
saiṃhikeyo yadā caṃdraṃ grasate parvasaṃdhiṣu | hasticchāyā tu sā jñeyā tasyāṃ śrāddhaṃ samācaret
Apabila Saiṃhikeyā (Rāhu) menelan Bulan pada persambungan parva-parva (waktu gerhana), maka itulah yang harus diketahui sebagai “bayang gajah” (hasti-chāyā); pada saat itu hendaklah dilakukan śrāddha dengan sempurna.
Agniveśa
Type: kshetra
Scene: A dramatic lunar eclipse: Rāhu’s dark form covers the Moon at the fortnight junction; below, a devotee prepares śrāddha offerings, with an elephant-shadow motif cast across the ground.
FAQs
Even liminal cosmic events like eclipses can become dharmic opportunities when used for pitṛ-tarpaṇa and śrāddha.
The verse is about time (kāla) sanctity rather than a named place; it sits within a Tīrthamāhātmya framework.
Perform śrāddha during the ‘hasti-chāyā’ condition—i.e., when Rāhu eclipses the Moon at parva junctions.