Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 35
कथं संजायते जंतुः कथं चापि प्रलीयते । भस्मतामथ संप्राप्य क्व चायं प्रति पद्यते
kathaṃ saṃjāyate jaṃtuḥ kathaṃ cāpi pralīyate | bhasmatāmatha saṃprāpya kva cāyaṃ prati padyate
“How is a living being born, and how does it dissolve? And after reaching the state of ashes, where does it go—where does it attain its next course?”
Atithi (unnamed guest, a vipra)
Listener: Kamaṭha (as respondent)
Scene: A seeker asks a stark metaphysical question: birth, dissolution, and the soul’s destination after the body becomes ashes—set in a quiet teaching assembly.
FAQs
It urges inquiry into saṃsāra—birth, death, and the soul’s onward journey—so that life is directed toward liberation and right conduct.
No tīrtha is named in this verse.
Cremation is implied by ‘ashes,’ but no specific funeral rite is prescribed; the verse is a philosophical question.