Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10
चैत्रशुक्लतृतीयायां मध्याह्ने द्विजसत्तमाः । नक्षत्रे यमदैवत्ये मार्तंडस्य च वासरे
caitraśuklatṛtīyāyāṃ madhyāhne dvijasattamāḥ | nakṣatre yamadaivatye mārtaṃḍasya ca vāsare
Wahai yang terbaik antara kaum dwija! Peristiwa itu berlaku pada tengah hari, pada hari ketiga paruh terang bulan Caitra, di bawah nakshatra yang dipimpin Dewa Yama, dan pada hari Mārtaṇḍa (Sang Surya).
Narrator (purāṇic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya context; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)
Type: kund
Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (best of twice-born)
Scene: A luminous midday scene over a sacred waterbody; priests/learned brāhmaṇas note the calendar; the sun stands high; subtle zodiacal/astral motifs hover as symbolic emblems of tithi and nakṣatra.
FAQs
It teaches that tīrtha-related merit is intensified when performed at a specifically sanctified conjunction of tithi, weekday, and nakṣatra.
The verse sets the auspicious time for a tīrtha episode in Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; the exact tīrtha name is implied by the surrounding chapter context rather than stated in this line.
A precise auspicious time is indicated (Caitra śukla tṛtīyā, midday, Yama-associated nakṣatra, Sunday), typically used to frame snāna or tīrtha observances.