Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 44
गतः कुत्र दुराचारश्चाणक्यो नामतस्त्विह । अन्विष्यतां पुराणेषु त्वितिहासेषु या गतिः
gataḥ kutra durācāraścāṇakyo nāmatastviha | anviṣyatāṃ purāṇeṣu tvitihāseṣu yā gatiḥ
«Wohin ist jener Übeltäter gegangen, der hier unter dem Namen Cāṇakya bekannt ist? Forscht in den Purāṇas und den Itihāsas, welches Geschick ihn ereilt hat.»
Dharmapālas (Yama’s attendants), as part of the narrative addressed to Pārtha (Arjuna)
Scene: Yama points decisively, ordering his officers to locate the fate of a named sinner; Citragupta’s records and scrolls of Purāṇa/Itihāsa are brought forth like legal texts.
FAQs
One’s destination after death is governed by dharma and karma, and Purāṇic tradition is invoked as an authoritative guide to such outcomes.
The verse sets up the inquiry; the surrounding passage in this adhyāya moves toward Śukla Tīrtha on the Narmadā as the decisive sacred context.
No direct rite is prescribed here; it calls for doctrinal verification through Purāṇas/Itihāsas regarding the soul’s gati.