Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
शिरस्था तुलसी यस्य न याम्यैरनुभूयते । मुखस्था तुलसी यस्य निर्वाणपददायिनी
śirasthā tulasī yasya na yāmyairanubhūyate | mukhasthā tulasī yasya nirvāṇapadadāyinī
ज्याच्या शिरावर तुलसी असते, त्याला यमदूत पकडत नाहीत। ज्याच्या मुखात तुलसी असते, ती निर्वाणपद देणारी ठरते।
Skanda (deduced from section context)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A serene deathbed scene: Tulasi leaf placed on the crown of the head; another at the lips; Yama’s messengers stand powerless at a distance; a luminous gateway of liberation opens above.
FAQs
Tulasī is upheld as a liberating sacramental presence, protecting from fear of death and directing the soul toward mokṣa.
No geographic tīrtha is named; the verse treats Tulasī as a sanctifying ‘mobile tīrtha’ especially relevant at life’s end.
Placing Tulasī on the head and in the mouth—commonly associated with devotional practice and end-of-life/antyeṣṭi customs—is praised.