Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 17
संध्याकाले च मंदेहाः सूर्यमिच्छंति खादितुम् । प्रजापतिकृतः शापस्तेषां फाल्गुन रक्षसाम्
saṃdhyākāle ca maṃdehāḥ sūryamicchaṃti khāditum | prajāpatikṛtaḥ śāpasteṣāṃ phālguna rakṣasām
شفق کے وقت ماندیہا دیو سورج کو نگلنے کی خواہش کرتے ہیں۔ اے فالگُن! یہ پرجاپتی کی طرف سے اُن راکشسوں پر دیا گیا شاپ ہے۔
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa frame)
Tirtha: Saṅdhyā-tīrtha (liminal time-junction)
Type: ghat
Listener: Phālguna (Arjuna)
Scene: At dusk, the Sun low on the horizon; shadowy Māndehā rākṣasas surge upward to swallow the solar disc; a sage/householder offers arghya, forming a luminous shield; Prajāpati in the background as the source of the curse.
FAQs
Twilight is a liminal, spiritually charged time; neglect of dharmic discipline is portrayed as enabling darkness, while right practice supports cosmic order.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on the universal sandhyā-time and the Sun’s cosmic station.
Not yet explicitly in this verse; subsequent verses connect sandhyā worship and Gāyatrī-purified water to the defeat of these beings.