Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16
षण्मासमृत्योर्मर्त्यस्य कंठोष्ठरसना रदाः । शुष्यंति सततं तद्वद्विच्छायास्तालुपंचमाः
ṣaṇmāsamṛtyormartyasya kaṃṭhoṣṭharasanā radāḥ | śuṣyaṃti satataṃ tadvadvicchāyāstālupaṃcamāḥ
Bagi insan yang ajalnya dalam enam bulan, tenggorokan, bibir, lidah, dan gigi senantiasa mengering; demikian pula langit-langit mulut—sebagai yang kelima—menjadi pudar dan kehilangan rona alaminya.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣi-audience (generic)
Scene: Close depiction of a person with parched throat and lips, tongue and teeth dry, palate dull—set against the humid Gaṅgā ghāṭ, emphasizing the paradox of inner dryness amid sacred waters; a priest offers water and bilva leaves toward a liṅga.
FAQs
The body’s decline is a Dharma-teacher: it reminds one to prioritize spiritual practice over complacency.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred geography in this section; this verse itself is an omen-list within that Kāśī narrative frame.
No explicit ritual is stated; it continues the catalogue of death-portents.