Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33
लज्जया ब्राह्मणेंद्राणां यो न ब्रूते कथंचन । न च राजा विजानाति शरीरस्थेन यो म्रियेत् । तस्य निग्रहकर्ता च स्वयं वैवस्वतो यमः
lajjayā brāhmaṇeṃdrāṇāṃ yo na brūte kathaṃcana | na ca rājā vijānāti śarīrasthena yo mriyet | tasya nigrahakartā ca svayaṃ vaivasvato yamaḥ
إن كان المرء، خجلاً أمام أسمى البراهمة، لا يعترف بشيءٍ البتّة، ولم يعلم الملك أيضاً، ثم مات وذلك الإثم لا يزال كامناً في جسده—فإن الذي يكبحه ويعاقبه هو يَما فَيْفَسْفَتا نفسه.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Type: kshetra
Scene: A dying person with a shadowy knot at the chest (unconfessed sin); in the background, Yama as Vaivasvata stands with staff/noose, not as terror alone but as inexorable cosmic judge; two paths shown: confession to elders/king vs concealment leading to Yama.
FAQs
Hidden wrongdoing that escapes human correction still meets cosmic justice; timely confession and expiation protect one from post-mortem punishment.
No tīrtha is named; the verse emphasizes moral accountability within the tīrtha-māhātmya discourse.
Implicitly: confess and undergo prescribed prāyaścitta; otherwise Yama becomes the punisher after death.