Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33
लज्जया ब्राह्मणेंद्राणां यो न ब्रूते कथंचन । न च राजा विजानाति शरीरस्थेन यो म्रियेत् । तस्य निग्रहकर्ता च स्वयं वैवस्वतो यमः
lajjayā brāhmaṇeṃdrāṇāṃ yo na brūte kathaṃcana | na ca rājā vijānāti śarīrasthena yo mriyet | tasya nigrahakartā ca svayaṃ vaivasvato yamaḥ
若因在最尊贵的婆罗门前羞惭而丝毫不肯坦白，国王也未得知，而他在罪业仍存于身时死去——则约束并惩罚此人的，正是阎摩·毗婆斯伐多亲自。
Mārkaṇḍeya
Type: kshetra
Scene: A dying person with a shadowy knot at the chest (unconfessed sin); in the background, Yama as Vaivasvata stands with staff/noose, not as terror alone but as inexorable cosmic judge; two paths shown: confession to elders/king vs concealment leading to Yama.
FAQs
Hidden wrongdoing that escapes human correction still meets cosmic justice; timely confession and expiation protect one from post-mortem punishment.
No tīrtha is named; the verse emphasizes moral accountability within the tīrtha-māhātmya discourse.
Implicitly: confess and undergo prescribed prāyaścitta; otherwise Yama becomes the punisher after death.
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