Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29
यः पश्येदात्मनश्छायां दक्षिणाशा समाश्रिताम् । दिनानि पंच जीवित्वा पंचत्वमुपयाति सः
yaḥ paśyedātmanaśchāyāṃ dakṣiṇāśā samāśritām | dināni paṃca jīvitvā paṃcatvamupayāti saḥ
यः स्वच्छायां दक्षिणाशां समाश्रितां पश्येत्, स पञ्चदिनानि जीवित्वा पञ्चत्वमुपयाति।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: At a sunlit ghat, a man looks down and sees his shadow unnaturally slanting toward the south; the southern horizon is tinted dark, hinting at Yama’s domain, while a nearby Śiva shrine offers a contrasting lamp-lit refuge—time compresses into five days.
FAQs
Death can be near; the wise intensify remembrance of God and settle duties without delay.
The verse belongs to the Kāśī-khaṇḍa setting, where teachings encourage readiness within Kāśī’s sacred dharma-field.
No explicit rite is mentioned; it gives a highly time-specific omen.