Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 22
Adhyaya 222 — राजधर्माः
Rājadharmāḥ): Duties of Kings (Administrative Order, Protection, and Revenue Ethics
चौररक्षाधिकारिभ्यो राजापि हृतमाप्नुयात् अहृते यो हृतं ब्रूयान्निःसार्यो दण्ड्य एव सः
caurarakṣādhikāribhyo rājāpi hṛtamāpnuyāt ahṛte yo hṛtaṃ brūyānniḥsāryo daṇḍya eva saḥ
Incluso el rey puede recuperar lo robado de los funcionarios encargados de la protección contra ladrones. Pero quien, sin que nada haya sido robado, afirme que fue robado, debe ser expulsado y ciertamente castigado.
Lord Agni (in instruction to Vasiṣṭha, in the usual Agni Purāṇa dialogue frame)
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Sandhi Resolution Notes: चौररक्षाधिकारिभ्यो = चौर-रक्षा-अधिकारीभ्यः; राजापि = राजा + अपि; हृतमाप्नुयात् = हृतम् + आप्नुयात्; ब्रूयान्निःसार्यः = ब्रूयात् + निःसार्यः (त्→न् before न).
FAQs
It imparts juridical governance (vyavahāra-vidyā): the king may recover stolen goods from negligent anti-theft officials, and false allegations of theft invite expulsion and punishment.
Alongside ritual and theology, the Agni Purāṇa preserves practical statecraft and legal norms—covering accountability of public officers and penalties for false claims, typical of dharmaśāstra-style governance material.
It reinforces dharma through daṇḍa: protecting society from theft and from deceitful speech (false accusation), both treated as adharma that generates negative karma and social disorder.