Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43
सत्कृत्योक्तो यमेनाथ स्वागतेन नृपोत्तमः । प्रथमं सुकृतं राजन्नथवा दुष्कृतं त्वया । भोक्तव्यमिति मे ब्रूहि तत्ते संपाद्यते मया
satkṛtyokto yamenātha svāgatena nṛpottamaḥ | prathamaṃ sukṛtaṃ rājannathavā duṣkṛtaṃ tvayā | bhoktavyamiti me brūhi tatte saṃpādyate mayā
Honoured and welcomed by Yama, the best of kings was addressed: “O king, tell me—what shall you experience first: the fruit of your merit or the fruit of your sin? Speak to me; it shall be arranged for you by me.”
Yama
Listener: Brāhmaṇas/Ṛṣis
Scene: Yama welcomes a king with formal honor, then gestures to a ledger/scale, asking which fruit should be experienced first—merit or sin.
FAQs
Karmic results must be faced in due order; even a righteous king must choose whether merit or demerit ripens first.
The broader narrative belongs to Dvārakā Māhātmya, framing Dvārakā as the sacred setting where the king’s later deliverance becomes manifest.
No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse focuses on karmic adjudication (puṇya/pāpa) under Yama.