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
ข้าแต่นราธิปะ ข้าพเจ้าได้กล่าวตามที่ท่านถามทั้งหมดแล้วว่า มนุษย์ด้วยกรรมของตนย่อมไม่ไปนรกได้อย่างไร และแม้ผู้มีบาปเพียงน้อยก็อาจไปนรกได้อย่างไร
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.