Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 45
कालं हि सृजता तेन कुतपः प्राग्विनिर्मितः । तस्मात्कुतप काले च श्राद्धं कार्यं विजानता । य इच्छेच्छाश्वतीं तृप्तिं पितॄणामात्मनः सुखम्
kālaṃ hi sṛjatā tena kutapaḥ prāgvinirmitaḥ | tasmātkutapa kāle ca śrāddhaṃ kāryaṃ vijānatā | ya icchecchāśvatīṃ tṛptiṃ pitṝṇāmātmanaḥ sukham
แท้จริงเมื่อพระองค์ทรงสร้างกาล (เวลา) ก็ได้ทรงกำหนด “กุฏปะ” คือช่วงมงคลไว้ก่อนแล้ว ดังนั้นผู้รู้พึงประกอบพิธีศราทธะในเวลากุฏปะ หากปรารถนาความอิ่มเอิบยั่งยืนแก่ปิตฤและความสุขแก่ตน
Skanda (deduced; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)
Type: ghat
Scene: A sun-disc marks the kutapa period (midday auspicious window) as a priest signals the correct moment; the householder begins śrāddha precisely then. Time is personified subtly as Kāla behind Brahmā, indicating kutapa was fashioned before other measures of time.
FAQs
Right timing (kāla) is a pillar of dharma: performing rites in the prescribed auspicious window is said to increase their fruit.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it teaches śrāddha timing within a broader tīrtha-māhātmya setting.
Perform śrāddha specifically during kutapa-kāla to secure lasting pitṛ satisfaction and personal well-being.