History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.876

v6.c81.876

There is some conflict on the question of the general rule about the extent of *puṇyakāla* on a saṅkrānti. Śātātapa,⁵⁵⁹ Jābāla and Marīci prescribe the sixteen ghaṭikās before and after the moment of Saṅkrānti as the puṇyakāla for the performance of the religious acts prescribed on Saṅkrānti On the other hand, the Devīpurāṇa⁵⁶⁰ and Vasiṣṭha lay down fifteen ghaṭikās each before and after saṅkrānti as the puṇyakāla This conflict is removed in various ways. One is to hold that the Devīpurāṇa is not restrictive but what it means is only this that lesser limits are meant to indicate that greater merit results by their observance. Another explanation was to hold that the limit of 16 ghaṭikās applied to saṅkrāntis called Viṣṇupadī.