Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 17
यमोऽहं सर्वभूतानां दुष्टानां कर्मकारिणाम् । धर्म रूपो हि सर्वेषां मनुजानां जितात्मनाम्
yamo'haṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ duṣṭānāṃ karmakāriṇām | dharma rūpo hi sarveṣāṃ manujānāṃ jitātmanām
“Aku adalah Yama bagi semua makhluk—bagi para durjana yang melakukan perbuatan dosa. Namun bagi semua manusia yang menaklukkan diri, aku sungguh wujud Dharma itu sendiri.”
Yama
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: Varddhanī
Scene: Yama declares his dual aspect: terrifying judge for sinners, embodiment of Dharma for the self-mastered; the imagery contrasts shadowy punitive aura with luminous dharmic radiance.
FAQs
Divine justice is twofold: it restrains wrongdoing, yet it supports and protects those who have conquered the self through Dharma.
No site is explicitly praised; the verse offers theological clarification within the Dharmāraṇya narrative.
No ritual is stated; the implied discipline is jitātmatā—self-mastery aligned with Dharma.