Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 80
तेषां तत्र गतानां च पापिनां पुण्यकर्मिणाम् । चित्रगुप्तः प्रेतपाय निरूपयति वै ततः
teṣāṃ tatra gatānāṃ ca pāpināṃ puṇyakarmiṇām | citraguptaḥ pretapāya nirūpayati vai tataḥ
അവിടെ എത്തിയവർ—പാപികളായാലും പുണ്യകർമ്മികളായാലും—അവരുടെ കാര്യത്തിൽ ചിത്രഗുപ്തൻ അപ്പോൾ പ്രേതലോകത്തിൽ അവരുടെ തുടർഗതി നിർണ്ണയിക്കുന്നു.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative frame)
Tirtha: Preta-pāya (conceptual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Citragupta seated in Yama’s court, writing in a ledger; lines of souls—some radiant, some distressed—await judgment; attendants guide them toward different paths.
FAQs
Deeds follow the soul; karmic records are assessed and one’s post-death course is assigned accordingly.
No single site is specified; the verse describes the general purāṇic mechanism of karmic evaluation after death.
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it explains the moral-judicial process governing the departed.