Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26
राष्ट्रादेनं बहिष्कुर्यात्समग्रधनमक्षतम् । नाश्नाति च गृहे राजन्नाग्निर्नगरवासिनाम् । सर्वेऽप्युद्विग्नमनसो गृहव्याप्तिविवर्जिताः
rāṣṭrādenaṃ bahiṣkuryātsamagradhanamakṣatam | nāśnāti ca gṛhe rājannāgnirnagaravāsinām | sarve'pyudvignamanaso gṛhavyāptivivarjitāḥ
Qu’on l’expulse du royaume, en laissant ses biens entiers et sans dommage. Et, ô Roi, dans les demeures des citadins le feu sacré ne « mange » pas (n’accepte pas les offrandes) ; tous ont l’esprit troublé, privés de la paisible plénitude de la vie domestique.
Mārkaṇḍeya (narrative voice, inferred)
Listener: King (राजन् directly addressed)
Scene: A troubled city: households with cold, unresponsive sacred fires; citizens anxious; a royal decree sends an offender beyond the kingdom’s boundary while his wealth remains untouched.
FAQs
Adharma at the top destabilizes society: when justice is corrupted, even domestic sacred rites lose their harmony and efficacy.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse emphasizes kingdom-wide consequences within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative frame.
Indirectly references the household sacred fire (Agni) and its offerings; the practical prescription here is juridical—banishment rather than killing.