Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22
सर्वे धर्मा धृताः पूर्वमेकत्राऽन्यत्र चाप्यृतम् । तुलायां कौतुकाद्देवैर्जातं तत्र ऋतं गुरु
sarve dharmā dhṛtāḥ pūrvamekatrā'nyatra cāpyṛtam | tulāyāṃ kautukāddevairjātaṃ tatra ṛtaṃ guru
قديماً جُمِعتْ جميعُ الدَّرْمات في كفّة، ووُضِعَ في كفّةٍ أخرى أيضاً «ṛta». ومن باب الفضول وضعها الآلهةُ في ميزان، فظهر هناك أنّ «ṛta» أثقلُ وأعظمُ قدراً.
Kṛtaghna (the preta)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Gods assemble around a giant balance scale; on one pan lie many scrolls labeled ‘dharma’, on the other a single radiant tablet labeled ‘ṛta/satya’ that sinks the scale, astonishing the devas.
FAQs
Ṛta/satya is portrayed as the heaviest—most authoritative—principle, surpassing other dharmic observances.
No specific tīrtha is named; it provides a universal ethical foundation for the forthcoming tīrtha instruction.
None; it uses a mythic ‘weighing’ metaphor to establish the supremacy of ṛta (truth).