Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29
यः पश्येदात्मनश्छायां दक्षिणाशा समाश्रिताम् । दिनानि पंच जीवित्वा पंचत्वमुपयाति सः
yaḥ paśyedātmanaśchāyāṃ dakṣiṇāśā samāśritām | dināni paṃca jīvitvā paṃcatvamupayāti saḥ
যে ব্যক্তি নিজের ছায়াকে দক্ষিণ দিকের দিকে ঝুঁকে থাকতে দেখে, সে মাত্র পাঁচ দিন জীবিত থেকে পঞ্চত্ব (মৃত্যু) প্রাপ্ত হয়।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: At a sunlit ghat, a man looks down and sees his shadow unnaturally slanting toward the south; the southern horizon is tinted dark, hinting at Yama’s domain, while a nearby Śiva shrine offers a contrasting lamp-lit refuge—time compresses into five days.
FAQs
Death can be near; the wise intensify remembrance of God and settle duties without delay.
The verse belongs to the Kāśī-khaṇḍa setting, where teachings encourage readiness within Kāśī’s sacred dharma-field.
No explicit rite is mentioned; it gives a highly time-specific omen.