Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32
अनाथस्याग्निसंस्कारं यः कुर्याच्छ्रद्धयान्वितः । अशक्तः प्रेरयेदन्यं सोग्निलोके महीयते
anāthasyāgnisaṃskāraṃ yaḥ kuryācchraddhayānvitaḥ | aśaktaḥ prerayedanyaṃ sogniloke mahīyate
Ai với lòng tín thành làm nghi lễ hỏa táng (agni-saṃskāra) cho người không nơi nương tựa—hoặc nếu bất lực thì khuyến phát người khác làm—sẽ được tôn vinh trong cõi Agni.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Type: ghat
Scene: At a cremation ground near the river, a compassionate householder and attendants perform final rites for an unknown deceased with solemn dignity; the pyre burns steadily, and Agni is depicted as a witness bestowing honor rather than terror.
FAQs
Serving the helpless—even in last rites—counts as high dharma when done with faith, yielding exalted spiritual reward.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred setting in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa where such meritorious acts are especially lauded.
Agni-saṃskāra (funerary fire-rites/cremation rites) for an anātha (unclaimed person), or arranging it through others.