Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15
अपरं भूभुजादेशान्मणिभद्रो निपातितः । वधकैस्तस्य तत्पापं यदि पापं प्रजायते
aparaṃ bhūbhujādeśānmaṇibhadro nipātitaḥ | vadhakaistasya tatpāpaṃ yadi pāpaṃ prajāyate
De plus, Maṇibhadra fut mis à mort par les bourreaux sur l’ordre du roi. Si quelque péché naît de cet acte, ce péché retombe en vérité sur celui qui a donné l’ordre injuste.
Narrative context (Attribution uncertain in snippet; within Tīrthamāhātmya discourse, likely Sūta narrating or a character recounting a case of royal injustice)
Scene: A somber court scene: Maṇibhadra is led by executioners; the king’s command is shown as the causal source of impending pāpa; sages or brāhmaṇas observe with grave disapproval, emphasizing dharma over power.
FAQs
Authority does not erase moral responsibility; unjust orders generate sin that returns to the true agent behind the act.
This verse is part of a Tīrthamāhātmya setting, but the specific tīrtha is not named in this single shloka excerpt.
None directly; the verse frames karmic accountability that later motivates expiatory practice.