Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16
यम उवाच । शृणु देव प्रवक्ष्यामि यावन्तो नरकाः स्थिताः । कर्मणा येन गच्छेत मानवो द्विजसत्तम । एकविंशत्समाख्याता नरका मम मन्दिरे
yama uvāca | śṛṇu deva pravakṣyāmi yāvanto narakāḥ sthitāḥ | karmaṇā yena gaccheta mānavo dvijasattama | ekaviṃśatsamākhyātā narakā mama mandire
یم نے کہا: “سن اے نیک بخت! میں بتاتا ہوں کہ کتنے دوزخ ہیں اور کن اعمال کے سبب انسان ان میں جاتا ہے، اے برہمنوں میں افضل۔ میرے دھام میں دوزخ اکیس شمار کیے گئے ہیں۔”
Yama (Dharmarāja)
Listener: Brāhmaṇa (dvija-sattama)
Scene: Yama begins formal instruction: seated as Dharmarāja with staff, attendants/record-keepers nearby; the brāhmaṇa listens. A subtle motif of ‘21 compartments’ or beads suggests the count of hells.
FAQs
Dharma operates through specific karmic results; Yama’s system is orderly and knowable, not arbitrary.
Prabhāsa Kṣetra, where the Māhātmya reinforces ethical living for pilgrims through Yama’s authoritative exposition.
No direct ritual; it begins the formal enumeration and explanation of narakas and their karmic causes.