Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12
यम उवाच । निमिषेणापि नो मर्त्यमानयामि महीतलात् । आयुःशेषेण विप्रेन्द्र पूर्णेनाथ त्यजामि न
yama uvāca | nimiṣeṇāpi no martyamānayāmi mahītalāt | āyuḥśeṣeṇa viprendra pūrṇenātha tyajāmi na
Yama dit : « Pas même l’espace d’un clin d’œil je n’emporte un mortel de la surface de la terre. Ô le meilleur des brāhmanes, je ne fais partir personne tant que le reste de sa durée de vie impartie n’est pas pleinement accompli. »
Yama (Dharmarāja)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Brāhmaṇa
Scene: Dharmarāja speaks with calm authority, gesturing as if weighing time itself; the brāhmaṇa listens, surprised, as the doctrine of allotted lifespan is revealed.
FAQs
Life’s departure is governed by dharma and the completion of allotted lifespan; Yama acts by cosmic law, not whim.
The verse occurs within a Tīrthamāhātmya setting in Nāgarakhaṇḍa, but this specific line emphasizes dharma/āyus rather than naming a particular tīrtha.
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it establishes the doctrinal basis of karmic timing and dharmic order.