Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 72
पुण्यकर्मा सौम्यरूपं धर्मराजं तदा किल । मनुष्या एव गच्छंति यमलोकेन चापरे
puṇyakarmā saumyarūpaṃ dharmarājaṃ tadā kila | manuṣyā eva gacchaṃti yamalokena cāpare
पुण्यकर्मी त्या वेळी खरोखर धर्मराजाच्या सौम्य रूपाकडे जातो; आणि काही इतर जीवही यमलोकाच्या मार्गाने—मानव आत्म्यांप्रमाणेच—जातात।
Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta (deduced for Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative style)
Listener: a sage/audience (contextual)
Scene: Dharmarāja appears in a gentle, auspicious form to a meritorious soul; the court is orderly, luminous, and calm, contrasting with the sinner’s terror.
FAQs
For the righteous, divine judgment is not भय (terror) but order and protection; puṇya transforms one’s experience of the same realm.
No earthly tīrtha is specified; the verse contrasts the sinner’s fear with the righteous person’s calm meeting with Dharmarāja.
No single rite is named; the prescription is broad: cultivate puṇya through dharmic action.