Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 26
श्रद्दध्यात्पार्थिवस्तेषां वचना देव भारत । ज्ञात्वा धर्मिष्ठतां राजा पुरुषस्य विचक्षणः
śraddadhyātpārthivasteṣāṃ vacanā deva bhārata | jñātvā dharmiṣṭhatāṃ rājā puruṣasya vicakṣaṇaḥ
হে ভাৰতদেৱ! ৰজাই তেনে লোকৰ বাক্যত শ্ৰদ্ধা স্থাপন কৰিব। যাৰ ধৰ্মনিষ্ঠা চিনে, সেই বিচক্ষণ নৃপতিয়ে তাকেই আশ্ৰয় কৰিব।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced)
Listener: Bhārata (addressed vocatively; likely a royal interlocutor such as a king/hero in the narrative frame)
Scene: A discerning king in a sabhā listens to a calm, austere dharmic counselor/witness; the king’s hand gestures indicate measured trust; scribes and ministers observe; a dharma-scale motif appears subtly in the background.
FAQs
Social order rests on dharma: rulers should recognize and honor the credibility of the truly righteous.
No specific sacred site is mentioned in this verse.
No ritual; it prescribes a governance principle—trusting the testimony of proven dharmic persons.