Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 76
प्रांते कुटुंबस्मरणात्तथाकाशीस्मृतेरपि । चोरैर्हतोपि स तदा कीकटे कुक्कुटोऽभवत्
prāṃte kuṭuṃbasmaraṇāttathākāśīsmṛterapi | corairhatopi sa tadā kīkaṭe kukkuṭo'bhavat
Sa huli—na inaalala ang kanyang sambahayan at inaalala rin ang Kāśī—bagaman pinatay ng mga magnanakaw, siya noon ay muling isinilang sa Kīkaṭa bilang isang tandang.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (remembered) / Kīkaṭa (rebirth locale)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience within Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame
Scene: A roadside ambush: thieves strike; as the brāhmaṇa falls, a luminous thought of Kāśī (ghāṭs, liṅga) rises like a halo; the next panel shows a rooster in Kīkaṭa at dawn, suggesting karmic reversal and continuity of consciousness.
FAQs
The final remembrance shapes destiny; even imperfect remembrance of Kāśī carries spiritual force, though mixed attachments can limit the outcome.
Kāśī is glorified through the emphasis on kāśī-smṛti—remembrance of Kāśī at life’s end as spiritually potent.
An implicit practice is indicated: cultivating remembrance of Kāśī (and by extension Śiva) at the time of death.