Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 117
मण्डूक इव सर्पेण गीर्यते मृत्युना जनः । बांधवैः संपरित्यक्तः प्रियैश्च परिवारितः
maṇḍūka iva sarpeṇa gīryate mṛtyunā janaḥ | bāṃdhavaiḥ saṃparityaktaḥ priyaiśca parivāritaḥ
ਜਿਵੇਂ ਸੱਪ ਮੇਂਡਕ ਨੂੰ ਨਿਗਲ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ, ਤਿਵੇਂ ਮ੍ਰਿਤਿਉ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਨੂੰ ਨਿਗਲ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ। ਕੁਝ ਬਾਂਧਵ ਛੱਡ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ, ਪਰ ਪ੍ਰਿਯ ਜਨ ਆਲੇ-ਦੁਆਲੇ ਘਿਰੇ ਰਹਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Scene: Symbolic tableau: a serpent swallowing a frog in the foreground; behind, a dying man with some relatives stepping back while a few loved ones remain close, helpless.
FAQs
Death is inescapable and solitary; one should rely on dharma and devotion rather than social support.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse is ethical-philosophical rather than geographical.
None; it motivates inner preparation—japa, charity, and devotion—before the final moment.