Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 74
यस्य राज्ञः प्रजा राष्ट्रे पच्यते नरकेषु सः । अचौरं चौरवत्पश्येच्चौरं वाऽचौररूपिणम्
yasya rājñaḥ prajā rāṣṭre pacyate narakeṣu saḥ | acauraṃ cauravatpaśyeccauraṃ vā'caurarūpiṇam
That king whose subjects in his realm are tormented as though ‘cooked’ in hell—he is the one who judges the innocent as thieves, or treats a thief as though he were not a thief (disguised as innocent).
Mahākāla (contextual—Kaumārikākhaṇḍa dialogue; immediate speaker not marked in this verse)
Scene: A king on the judgment seat: an innocent bound as ‘thief’ while a real thief stands disguised and honored; behind, a vision of naraka flames ‘cooking’ souls as karmic warning.
FAQs
Misjudgment and injustice by rulers is a grave adharma that leads to severe karmic consequence.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is rāja-dharma and karmic retribution.
None; it is an ethical injunction about correct discernment and justice.