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
यम म्हणाला—क्षणभरासाठीसुद्धा मी कोणत्याही मर्त्याला पृथ्वीवरून उचलून नेत नाही. हे विप्रश्रेष्ठा, ठरलेली उरलेली आयुष्यपूर्ती होईपर्यंत मी कोणालाही देहत्याग करवित नाही.
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.