Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 59
मृत्युकाले समुत्पन्ने धेनुं यच्छंति ये नराः । तस्या लांगूलमाश्रित्य तारयंति सुखेन च
mṛtyukāle samutpanne dhenuṃ yacchaṃti ye narāḥ | tasyā lāṃgūlamāśritya tārayaṃti sukhena ca
Quand l’heure de la mort est venue, ceux qui offrent une vache laitière—en s’agrippant à sa queue—sont transportés au-delà avec aisance.
Yama
Listener: Dvija-uttama (best of the twice-born)
Scene: A dying person offers a decorated milch-cow to a brāhmaṇa; in the subtle realm the soul holds the cow’s tail and is guided across a dark, fearsome river toward a luminous farther bank.
FAQs
Charity—especially go-dāna—becomes spiritual support at life’s final passage, symbolizing dharma that carries one beyond fear.
The focus is the mythic Vaitaraṇī crossing in the afterlife rather than a named earthly tīrtha.
Go-dāna (the gift of a cow), ideally performed as death approaches or arranged as a final act of charity.