Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8
स देवानामहोरात्रं पुराणज्ञाः प्रचक्षते । अयनं चोत्तरं शुक्लं यद्देवानां दिनं च तत् । यद्दक्षिणं तु सा रात्रिः शुभकर्मविगर्हिता
sa devānāmahorātraṃ purāṇajñāḥ pracakṣate | ayanaṃ cottaraṃ śuklaṃ yaddevānāṃ dinaṃ ca tat | yaddakṣiṇaṃ tu sā rātriḥ śubhakarmavigarhitā
Esse ciclo é chamado pelos conhecedores dos Purāṇa de dia e noite dos deuses. O luminoso curso do norte, Uttarāyaṇa, é o dia dos deuses; o curso do sul, Dakṣiṇāyaṇa, é a sua noite, tida como desfavorável às obras auspiciosas.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)
Listener: dvijoत्तमāḥ (addressed audience: best of twice-born)
Scene: A cosmic diagram-like scene: the sun’s northward and southward paths shown as bright and dark halves; devas in a luminous assembly during Uttarāyaṇa and withdrawn/veiled during Dakṣiṇāyaṇa; a sage instructing pilgrims beside a tīrtha.
FAQs
Auspicious action is linked to cosmic order; aligning one’s undertakings with the ‘day of the gods’ is presented as dharmically superior.
No single tirtha is named; the verse provides a pan-Indic calendrical principle often applied to pilgrimage and vrata timing.
Prefer śubha-karmas during Uttarāyaṇa (the gods’ day); Dakṣiṇāyaṇa is characterized as comparatively unsuitable for auspicious rites.