Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77
यवान्नैर्वा फलाहारैः शाकाहारैः पयोव्रतैः । प्राणयात्रां प्रकुर्वीत यावत्प्राणः स्वयं व्रजेत्
yavānnairvā phalāhāraiḥ śākāhāraiḥ payovrataiḥ | prāṇayātrāṃ prakurvīta yāvatprāṇaḥ svayaṃ vrajet
Dengan menyara hidup melalui makanan barli, diet buah-buahan, diet sayur-sayuran, atau brata susu, hendaklah seseorang meneruskan “perjalanan prāṇa”—hingga prāṇa berangkat dengan sendirinya.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: An austere figure on the Gaṅgā’s edge at dawn, holding a small bowl of milk or barley gruel, prayer beads in hand, eyes toward a distant temple spire; the body frail yet composed, suggesting the ‘prāṇa-yātrā’ until natural departure.
FAQs
It commends disciplined, simple sustenance as a form of tapas, while affirming acceptance of life’s natural end.
The Kāśī setting is implicit; the verse itself is not a site-glorification passage.
Permissible austerity-diets: barley food, fruits, vegetables, and milk-based vrata.