Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 42
अहो न युक्तं पालानां यदि तेऽप्यविमृश्य च । एवमर्थान्करिष्यंति कं यांति शरणं प्रजाः
aho na yuktaṃ pālānāṃ yadi te'pyavimṛśya ca | evamarthānkariṣyaṃti kaṃ yāṃti śaraṇaṃ prajāḥ
“Alas, it is not fitting for protectors (rulers) if even they act without reflection in such matters. If they decide affairs like this, to whom will the people go for refuge?”
Guha (Skanda/Kārttikeya)
Scene: चिन्तित प्रजा/यात्री; एक ओर राजपुरुष/पालक असमंजस में; दूसरी ओर धर्म-चिन्तक साधु; पृष्ठभूमि में तीर्थ-तट।
FAQs
Leaders and guardians must act with thoughtful discernment; impulsive judgment destroys public trust and refuge.
The verse is part of the Stambhatīrtha/Tīrtharāja episode; here the emphasis is on rajadharma rather than site-description.
None; it is a governance ethic: deliberation (vimarśa) before decisions affecting dharma.