Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38
देहं पंचत्वमापन्नं त्यक्त्वा कौ काष्ठलोष्ठवत् । बांधवा विमुखा यांति धर्मो यांतमनुव्रजेत्
dehaṃ paṃcatvamāpannaṃ tyaktvā kau kāṣṭhaloṣṭhavat | bāṃdhavā vimukhā yāṃti dharmo yāṃtamanuvrajet
Quand le corps retombe dans l’état des cinq éléments, on le rejette comme un morceau de bois ou une motte de terre ; les proches se détournent et s’en vont, mais le dharma suit celui qui s’en va.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A funeral procession reaches the ghāṭ; the body is set down like a log; relatives step back with averted faces, while a subtle luminous figure labeled ‘Dharma’ follows the departing soul toward a radiant path over the Gaṅgā.
FAQs
The body is impermanent and abandoned at death; only dharma remains a true companion.
Within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa framework, the teaching reinforces Kāśī’s renunciatory and liberation-centered vision.
None directly; it urges cultivation of dharma rather than reliance on social or material supports.