Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1
अगस्तिरुवाच । कथं निकटतः कालो ज्ञायते हरनंदन । तानि चिह्नानि कतिचिद्ब्रूहि मे परिपृच्छतः
agastiruvāca | kathaṃ nikaṭataḥ kālo jñāyate haranaṃdana | tāni cihnāni katicidbrūhi me paripṛcchataḥ
அகஸ்தியர் கூறினார்—ஹரநந்தனே! காலம் (மரணம்) அருகில் வந்தது என்பதை எவ்வாறு அறியலாம்? நான் கேட்கிறேன்; அந்த அறிகுறிகளில் சிலவற்றை எனக்குச் சொல்வாயாக।
Agastya
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Skanda (Kumāra)
Scene: Sage Agastya, composed yet earnest, questions Skanda about the nearness of death; the setting suggests a sacred assembly in Kāśī with a contemplative atmosphere.
FAQs
Spiritual urgency: recognizing mortality prompts timely dharma, detachment, and refuge in the sacred.
The dialogue occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework, implicitly tying death-awareness to Kāśī’s mokṣa-oriented sanctity.
None in this verse; it initiates inquiry into diagnostic signs (cihna) of approaching death.