Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1
देव उवाच । एषा रात्रिः समादिष्टा दानवानां सुरेश्वरि । पिशाचानां च भूतानां राक्षसानां विशेषतः
deva uvāca | eṣā rātriḥ samādiṣṭā dānavānāṃ sureśvari | piśācānāṃ ca bhūtānāṃ rākṣasānāṃ viśeṣataḥ
เทพตรัสว่า: โอ้สุเรศวรี ราตรีนี้ได้กำหนดไว้แก่พวกทานวะ และโดยเฉพาะแก่พวกปีศาจปิศาจะ ภูตะ และรากษสะ
Deva (likely Śiva) speaking to Devī
Tirtha: Sandhyā (contextual) / Rātri (as allotted domain)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sureśvarī
Scene: A deity explains to Sureśvarī that night is allotted to Dānavas and especially to Piśācas, Bhūtas, and Rākṣasas—evoking a cosmological decree and the atmosphere of nocturnal danger.
FAQs
Time itself is portrayed as having domains; night is associated with darker beings, implying the need for vigilance, purity, and protective dharmic conduct.
No single named tīrtha appears in this verse; it functions as a calendrical/temporal teaching within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.
No explicit rite is stated; the verse sets a timing framework that often underlies prescriptions about Sandhyā, snāna, japa, and protection.