ପ୍ରଦୋଷସ୍ତୋତ୍ରାଷ୍ଟକମ୍

The hymn of the evening twilight hour, from the Brahmottara Khanda of the Skanda Purana and given there to Shandilya — recited at pradosha, the hour before nightfall on the thirteenth of the fortnight when Shiva is held to dance. Its first verse announces itself with unusual directness: I speak the truth, I speak what is good for the next world, I speak the essence, I speak the heart of the Upanishads — having got this violent and worthless round of becoming, the essence for a creature is service at the lotus feet of the lord. The second is a warning rather than a promise, which is rarer: those who do not worship the mountain-dweller at the hour of pradosha, and the fools who do not drink this account with their ears, are born poor birth after birth.