Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 76
प्रांते कुटुंबस्मरणात्तथाकाशीस्मृतेरपि । चोरैर्हतोपि स तदा कीकटे कुक्कुटोऽभवत्
prāṃte kuṭuṃbasmaraṇāttathākāśīsmṛterapi | corairhatopi sa tadā kīkaṭe kukkuṭo'bhavat
À la fin—se souvenant de sa famille et se souvenant aussi de Kāśī—bien qu’il fût tué par des voleurs, il renaquit alors en Kīkaṭa sous la forme d’un coq.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (remembered) / Kīkaṭa (rebirth locale)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience within Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame
Scene: A roadside ambush: thieves strike; as the brāhmaṇa falls, a luminous thought of Kāśī (ghāṭs, liṅga) rises like a halo; the next panel shows a rooster in Kīkaṭa at dawn, suggesting karmic reversal and continuity of consciousness.
FAQs
The final remembrance shapes destiny; even imperfect remembrance of Kāśī carries spiritual force, though mixed attachments can limit the outcome.
Kāśī is glorified through the emphasis on kāśī-smṛti—remembrance of Kāśī at life’s end as spiritually potent.
An implicit practice is indicated: cultivating remembrance of Kāśī (and by extension Śiva) at the time of death.