Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26
एतैस्तत्र कृतं सर्वैर्देवि प्रायोपवेशनम् । अपि कीटपतंगा ये पशवः पक्षिणो मृगाः । प्रासादे तत्र निर्मुक्ताः प्राणैर्यांति ममांतिकम्
etaistatra kṛtaṃ sarvairdevi prāyopaveśanam | api kīṭapataṃgā ye paśavaḥ pakṣiṇo mṛgāḥ | prāsāde tatra nirmuktāḥ prāṇairyāṃti mamāṃtikam
Ô Déesse, tous ceux-ci ont accompli là le prāyopaveśa (vœu de jeûner jusqu’à la mort). Même les insectes et les papillons de nuit, le bétail, les oiseaux et les bêtes sauvages — s’ils y rendent leur dernier souffle, dans ce prāsāda sacré — viennent en Ma propre présence.
Śiva (implied, addressing Pārvatī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pārvatī
Scene: A temple prāsāda where diverse beings—moths circling lamps, birds on eaves, cattle at the courtyard, forest animals at the threshold—are shown departing life and moving as subtle lights toward Śiva’s radiant presence; gaṇas appear as guides.
FAQs
The tīrtha’s sanctity is portrayed as so intense that even non-human beings dying there are said to reach Śiva’s presence.
Suparṇākhya, especially its prāsāda (temple precinct) within Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra.
Prāyopaveśa—religiously resolved fasting unto death—performed at the sacred spot.