यश्चैवास्तमिते सूर्ये भुंक्ते च श्राद्धकृन्नरः । व्यर्थतां याति तच्छ्राद्धं तस्माद्भुंजीत नो निशि
yaścaivāstamite sūrye bhuṃkte ca śrāddhakṛnnaraḥ | vyarthatāṃ yāti tacchrāddhaṃ tasmādbhuṃjīta no niśi
جو شخص شِرادھ کرتے ہوئے سورج ڈوبنے کے بعد کھاتا ہے، اس کا شِرادھ بے ثمر ہو جاتا ہے۔ اس لیے رات میں کھانا نہ کھائے۔
Bhartṛyajña (instructor) to Ānarta (king) — inferred from the Śrāddha-kalpa dialogue flow
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: General injunction to the śrāddha-performer; framed with address to a ruler in the passage
Scene: A cautionary scene: the Sun near the horizon; a śrāddha performer hastens to complete offerings and meal before dusk; the contrast of daylight sanctity versus the inauspiciousness of night-eating is implied.
Proper timing is part of dharma: rites for the ancestors must be done within prescribed solar limits to retain their efficacy.
The instruction appears within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya of the Nāgara Khaṇḍa.
Do not eat after sunset during Śrāddha; avoid night-eating so the rite does not lose its merit.