Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9
तथा कृता मयैषाद्य व्यवस्था सर्वदेहिनाम् । अष्टमाद्वत्सरादूर्ध्यं कर्मणा गर्हितेन च । प्रग्रहीष्यति वै जंतुः पुरुषो योषिदेव वा
tathā kṛtā mayaiṣādya vyavasthā sarvadehinām | aṣṭamādvatsarādūrdhyaṃ karmaṇā garhitena ca | pragrahīṣyati vai jaṃtuḥ puruṣo yoṣideva vā
«Ainsi, aujourd’hui, j’ai établi cette règle pour tous les êtres incarnés : après la huitième année, toute créature —homme ou femme— sera assurément tenue responsable des actes blâmables.»
Māṇḍavya
Type: kshetra
Scene: Māṇḍavya, now composed, proclaims a universal ordinance; the scene shifts from confrontation to proclamation, with scribal or celestial witnesses recording the rule.
FAQs
Dharma is presented as an enforceable moral order: accountability begins after a defined age, emphasizing conscious responsibility.
No tīrtha is named in this verse; it establishes a general dharmic principle within the chapter’s narrative.
No ritual is prescribed; it is a normative rule about culpability for actions.