Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16
षण्मासमृत्योर्मर्त्यस्य कंठोष्ठरसना रदाः । शुष्यंति सततं तद्वद्विच्छायास्तालुपंचमाः
ṣaṇmāsamṛtyormartyasya kaṃṭhoṣṭharasanā radāḥ | śuṣyaṃti satataṃ tadvadvicchāyāstālupaṃcamāḥ
ஆறு மாதத்தில் மரணம் அடையவிருக்கும் மனிதனின் தொண்டை, உதடுகள், நாவு, பற்கள் எப்போதும் உலர்ந்து போகும்; அதுபோல ஐந்தாவதாகிய அண்ணமும் ஒளியிழந்து இயல்பான நிறச்சாயையை இழக்கும்.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣi-audience (generic)
Scene: Close depiction of a person with parched throat and lips, tongue and teeth dry, palate dull—set against the humid Gaṅgā ghāṭ, emphasizing the paradox of inner dryness amid sacred waters; a priest offers water and bilva leaves toward a liṅga.
FAQs
The body’s decline is a Dharma-teacher: it reminds one to prioritize spiritual practice over complacency.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred geography in this section; this verse itself is an omen-list within that Kāśī narrative frame.
No explicit ritual is stated; it continues the catalogue of death-portents.