Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18
एतत्ते सर्वमाख्यातं यत्पृष्टोऽस्मि नराधिप । यथा न नरकं याति पुरुषस्तु स्वकर्मणा । यथा च नरकं याति स्वल्पपापोऽपि मानवः
etatte sarvamākhyātaṃ yatpṛṣṭo'smi narādhipa | yathā na narakaṃ yāti puruṣastu svakarmaṇā | yathā ca narakaṃ yāti svalpapāpo'pi mānavaḥ
ഹേ നരാധിപാ! നീ ചോദിച്ചതെല്ലാം ഞാൻ പറഞ്ഞു—മനുഷ്യൻ തന്റെ കർമങ്ങളാൽ എങ്ങനെ നരകത്തിലേക്ക് പോകാതിരിക്കും, കൂടാതെ അല്പപാപിയെങ്കിലും എങ്ങനെ നരകത്തിലേക്ക് പോകാം എന്നും.
Bhīṣma (to Yudhiṣṭhira)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (chapter conclusion)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (narādhipa)
Scene: Bhīṣma, lying on the bed of arrows, instructs Yudhiṣṭhira with calm authority; the scene emphasizes closure and moral clarity about karma and hell.
FAQs
Karma is decisive: one’s own actions determine freedom from, or descent into, hell—so dharma must be practiced carefully.
This is a summarizing statement rather than a site-specific glorification; the chapter overall sits within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya.
None directly; it closes a set of prescriptions by stating the principle of karmic consequence.