Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30
स एव दंड्योऽभूत्तस्य राज्ञो मित्रजितः क्षितौ । यो विष्णुभक्तिरहितः प्राणैरपि धनैरपि
sa eva daṃḍyo'bhūttasya rājño mitrajitaḥ kṣitau | yo viṣṇubhaktirahitaḥ prāṇairapi dhanairapi
Sous le roi Mitrajit sur la terre, seul était passible de châtiment celui qui était dépourvu de dévotion envers Viṣṇu, dans sa vie même comme dans ses biens.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative, typically Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Royal court of Mitrajit: the king holds a scepter of justice; a lone offender stands aside marked not for crime against persons but for irreverence/lack of devotion; behind, devotees offer lamps to Hari, showing the realm’s standard.
FAQs
Bhakti is presented as the central public virtue; society is protected by aligning rule with devotion and dharma.
The Kāśī-kṣetra setting (Kāśīkhaṇḍa) where devotion is portrayed as the highest civic principle.
No specific rite; the verse stresses adherence to Viṣṇu-bhakti as a normative dharmic requirement.