Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49
एवं स्थितेषु लोकेषु गतपापामयेषु च । प्रयाताः शून्यतां सर्वे नरका ये यमालये
evaṃ sthiteṣu lokeṣu gatapāpāmayeṣu ca | prayātāḥ śūnyatāṃ sarve narakā ye yamālaye
Als die Welten so bestanden—frei von Sünde und Krankheit—da fielen alle Höllen im Bereich Yamas in Leere und Verlassenheit.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Tīrthamāhātmya; speaker not explicit in the snippet)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A deserted hellscape: empty iron cities, silent rivers of torment, Yama’s court vacant; contrasted with bright purified worlds above; chains lying unused.
FAQs
When dharma and purity prevail through sacred merit, the punitive order (hells) becomes unnecessary—sin’s disappearance empties naraka.
The verse is situated in the Tīrthamāhātmya of Nāgarakhaṇḍa (Adhyāya 95), but this line does not itself name the site.
No explicit ritual is stated; the emphasis is on the cosmic consequence of widespread pāpa-kṣaya.