Skandapurana 4.42
English (machine translation) 4.42
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4.42.1
Agastya said:
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How is Death known to be near at hand, O son of Hara?
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Tell me, who am inquiring, some of those signs. // 1
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Kumāra said:
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I will tell the signs of Death that appear to embodied beings
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when death has approached near; hear them, O sage! // 2
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He in whose southern nostril the breath blows day and night
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incessantly, his life-span wastes away indeed within three years. // 3
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[If] the sun[-breath] flows continuously for a day and a night, or for three days and nights,
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the limit of his life here is said to be one year. // 4
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If the wind should blow continuously in both nostrils for ten days,
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with a solar transit occurring along with it, he would live for three days. // 5
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If, leaving both nasal passages, the breath blows from the mouth,
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one should announce his departure on the road [of death] in less than two days. // 6
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Since death may suddenly become imminent,
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that time of death should be contemplated with effort by one who fears death. // 7
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When the sun is in the seventh sign and the moon is in the birth asterism,
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and the sun[-breath] flows in the southern [nostril], that time is to be regarded as lethal. // 8
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One who suddenly catches sight of a dark and reddish-brown man,
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and at that very moment [sees him] formless, he will live for two years. // 9
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He whose semen, feces, and urine, or sneeze, urine, and feces,
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fall all at once here, his life-span is held to be one year. // 10
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He who sees in the sky a group of serpents resembling sapphire,
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gliding here and there, does not live six months. // 11
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On a cloudless day, with a mouth full of water, having turned his back to the sun,
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blowing it out forcefully, if one does not see a rainbow, one's life is six months. // 12
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Arundhatī, Dhruva, and the three strides of Viṣṇu,
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and fourth, the circle of the Mothers: one near to death does not see these. // 13
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Arundhatī is the tongue; Dhruva is declared to be the tip of the nose.
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The footsteps of Viṣṇu are between the eyebrows; the circle of mothers is in the eyes.
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If one perceives of a color such as blue, or a taste such as pungent or sour,
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a sudden alteration, he meets death in six months.
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For a mortal whose death is in six months, the throat, lips, tongue, and teeth,
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along with the palate as the fifth, constantly dry up and lose their luster.
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If semen, fingernails, and the corners of the eyes take on a dark blue color,
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then a man will depart for the city of Yama in the sixth month.
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If, when sexual intercourse is underway, in the middle or at the end, a man sneezes,
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he will certainly become a guest of Dharmarāja in the fifth month.
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If a three-colored lizard swiftly mounts upon one's head
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and runs off, his lifespan comes to an end in six months.
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One whose chest dries quickly even after a good bath,
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or whose feet or hands do so, his life lasts three months.
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One whose reflection has the shape of a broken or incomplete footprint,
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whether in dust or in mud, lives for five months.
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One whose shadow trembles even while the bodily posture is still,
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the messengers of Death bind that man in the fourth month.
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Whoever does not see the head of his own reflection
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in water, ghee, a mirror, and the like, perishes in one month.
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If the intellect fails, speech falters, Indra's bow [is seen] without clouds,
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two moons [are seen] at night and two suns by day,
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the disk of stars by day, the sky devoid of stars at night,
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and the circle of Indra's bow in all four directions at once;
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an abode of the city of Gandharvas on a tree or on a mountain peak,
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and the dance of piśācas by day—these are the causes of death.
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If one sees even a single one among all these signs,
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then death waits for the limit of a month, and no more.
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When one whose ears are blocked with his hands hears no sound,
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or a stout man [becomes] emaciated and an emaciated man stout, then he passes away in a month.
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Whoever sees his own shadow inclined toward the southern quarter,
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having lived for five days, he meets his death.
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One who is carried off or devoured by piśācas, asuras, crows,
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bhūtas, pretas, dogs, vultures, jackals, donkeys, pigs,
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asses, young camels, monkeys, hawks, mules, or herons
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in a dream, having abandoned life, beholds Yama at the end of a year.
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A man who sees his own body adorned with perfumes,
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flowers, and red garments at the time of a dream, lives for eight months, alas!
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Whoever in a dream mounts a heap of dust, an anthill,
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or a sacrificial post, perishes in the sixth month.
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Whoever sees himself mounted on an ass, smeared with oil and shaven-headed,
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being led toward the quarter of Yama, or sees his ancestors in a dream;
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a man who, while dreaming, sees grass or dry wood
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on his own head or on his body, does not survive past the sixth month.
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Whoever sees before himself a dark man clad in black garments
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and holding an iron club, cannot cross three months.
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Whom a dark maiden binds in a dream with arm-nooses,
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he will behold the city inhabited by Yama in a month.
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A man who, mounted on a monkey, goes toward the eastern direction while asleep,
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in just five days he will see the city of Saṃyaminī.
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If a miser becomes generous, or a generous person a miser,
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if there is an alteration of one's nature, then he meets death.
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These are the signs of death; there are many others as well.
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Having recognized them, a man should practice yoga, or else take refuge in Kāśī.
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I know of no other means to deceive Death, O sage,
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except the Conqueror of Death, the Lord of Kāśī, who prevents [re-entry into] the womb.
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Sins roar only so long, King Yama roars only so long,
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as a man does not zealously go for refuge to Viśveśa.
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Having reached the abode of Viśveśvara, having drunk the water flowing toward the north,
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and having touched the noble liṅga of Viśveśa, who does not become venerable?
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What will enraged Death do to men who reside in Kāśī?
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where Śiva himself whispers the mantra into the ear at the time [of death]? .. 44 ..
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Just as infancy passes away, and just as childhood is gone,
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likewise youth is swiftly fleeting, and old age too arrives. .. 45 ..
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Before old age seizes [him], before the failure of the sense organs [occurs],
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a wise man should abandon everything worthless and take refuge in Kāśī. .. 46 ..
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Let other signs of Death remain aside, O pitcher-born one!
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Old age itself is the first sign, and yet remarkably there is no fear of it! .. 47 ..
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For one who is overcome by old age is disdained by everyone,
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like a destitute man whose ruby of youth has been stolen away. .. 48 ..
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Sons do not obey his word; even a wife abandons her love;
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kinsmen have no regard for a man embraced by old age. .. 49 ..
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Seeing him embraced by old age, another woman becomes suspicious;
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even an affectionate, passionate woman constantly turns her face away. .. 4.1.42.50 ..
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There is no disease like old age; there is no sorrow equal to old age.
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The bringer of humiliation, old age is death itself for men. .. 51 ..
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Time is not conquered in such a way by tapas or methods of yoga
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as it is conquered over a long time by dwelling in Kāśī. .. 52 ..
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Without sacrifices, without gifts, without observances, recitations, and the like,
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without abundant stores of great merit, who can hope to reach Kāśī? .. 53 ..
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Attaining Kāśī is this yoga; attaining Kāśī is this tapas;
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attaining Kāśī is this gift; attaining Kāśī is oneness with Śiva. .. 54 ..
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What is the Kali age, or what is Death? What is old age, and what is misdeed?
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What are illnesses, or what are obstacles, if Vārāṇasī has been resorted to? .. 55 ..
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The Kali age oppresses only those, and Time seeks to kill only those, .. 56 ..
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and sins afflict only those who have not taken refuge in Kāśī.
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Those by whom Kāśī has been resorted to, and by whom Viśveśvara has been worshipped,
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having attained saving knowledge, they are liberated from the bonds of karma. .. 57 ..
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Wealthy men anywhere never obtain such happiness
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as one who has died in Kāśī attains imperishable bliss. .. 58 ..
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Better is an inhabitant of Kāśī than one seated in the realm of the celestials:
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the former attains an end to suffering; the latter attains an end to happiness. .. 59 ..
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Though staying on Mount Mandara with its lovely caves,
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the blessed Lord found no delight without Kāśī, where King Divodāsa resided. .. 4.1.42.60 ..
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Thus ends the forty-second chapter, named 'Means of Cheating Time', in the first half of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, in the fourth section of the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses]. .. 42 ..
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- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit