Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 75
युगपत्सर्वमेवाशु नष्टं दुर्बुद्धिचेष्टया । न काश्यां मरणं प्राप्तं तस्माद्दुष्टप्रतिग्रहात्
yugapatsarvamevāśu naṣṭaṃ durbuddhiceṣṭayā | na kāśyāṃ maraṇaṃ prāptaṃ tasmādduṣṭapratigrahāt
“Sekaligus semuanya musnah dengan cepat oleh perbuatan yang bodoh; dan kerana penerimaan hadiah yang jahat itu, aku tidak memperoleh kematian di Kāśī.”
Skanda (narrator); quoted lament of the brāhmaṇa protagonist
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience within Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame
Scene: A rapid montage-like scene: wealth accepted → calamity strikes → the brāhmaṇa, now far from Kāśī, reaches out toward a fading vision of the city; above, a symbolic noose of karma blocks the path to a luminous liṅga representing the desired Kāśī-death.
FAQs
Misguided greed can deprive one of the rarest grace—attaining one’s final moment in Kāśī, famed for liberation-linked merit.
Kāśī is glorified as the uniquely meritorious place where even death is spiritually significant.
No direct ritual; it underscores the dharmic prerequisite—purity of conduct—for benefiting from Kāśī’s salvific promise.