Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 11
म्लेच्छा अपि सुतीर्थेषु ये मृतानात्मघातकाः । विहाय काशीं निर्वाण विश्राणांतेऽत्र भोगिनः
mlecchā api sutīrtheṣu ye mṛtānātmaghātakāḥ | vihāya kāśīṃ nirvāṇa viśrāṇāṃte'tra bhoginaḥ
മ്ലേച്ഛരായാലും, ഉത്തമ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളിൽ മരിച്ച് ആത്മഹത്യക്കാരല്ലെങ്കിൽ, കാശിയെ വിട്ട് (ദേഹത്യാഗം ചെയ്ത്) ഇവിടെ ഭോഗങ്ങൾ അനുഭവിച്ച ശേഷം മോക്ഷദാനം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī su-tīrthas (Gaṅgā-ghāṭas within Avimukta)
Type: ghat
Listener: Purāṇic audience
Scene: A poignant riverside deathbed scene at a Kāśī ghat: an outsider pilgrim lies peacefully facing the Gaṅgā and a distant Śiva shrine; attendants chant; a luminous, compassionate presence of Śiva bestows release; the mood balances awe and tenderness.
FAQs
Sacred tīrthas uplift all, regardless of origin, but self-harm (ātmaghāta) is a grave obstacle to auspicious destiny.
Kāśī and the wider network of su-tīrthas; Kāśī is implied as the central liberating field (mokṣa-kṣetra).
No explicit rite; it underscores the religious importance of dying in a tīrtha and the prohibition of suicide.