Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 44
पातकानां कुले नष्टे नरकाः शून्यतां गताः । नरके शून्यतां याते मम राज्यं हि निष्फलम्
pātakānāṃ kule naṣṭe narakāḥ śūnyatāṃ gatāḥ | narake śūnyatāṃ yāte mama rājyaṃ hi niṣphalam
Quand la lignée des péchés est détruite, les enfers deviennent vides. Et lorsque les enfers sont vides, mon royaume, en vérité, devient sans fruit.
Yama (to Brahmā)
Scene: A vast, usually fiery naraka landscape shown eerily empty—extinguished flames, silent gates—while Yama stands contemplative, his regalia intact but his realm inactive; the paradox of ‘fruitless kingdom’ is central.
FAQs
Purification through Rudra-centered practice is depicted as so effective that it disrupts the usual cycle of punishment and retribution.
No tīrtha is named; the verse is cosmological, describing Naraka and Yama’s domain.
No direct prescription; the verse continues the consequence of widespread Rudra-oriented purification.