Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 11
Adhyaya 222 — राजधर्माः
Rājadharmāḥ): Duties of Kings (Administrative Order, Protection, and Revenue Ethics
धर्मागमो रक्षणाच्च पापमाप्नोत्यरक्षणात् सुभगा विटभीतेव राजवल्लभतस्करैः
dharmāgamo rakṣaṇācca pāpamāpnotyarakṣaṇāt subhagā viṭabhīteva rājavallabhataskaraiḥ
રક્ષણથી ધર્મ સ્થિર થાય છે, અને અરક્ષણથી પાપ પ્રાપ્ત થાય છે. જેમ એક સૌભાગ્યવતી સ્ત્રી દલાલણથી ડરીને, રાજાના પ્રિયજન અને ચોરોથી પણ ભયભીત થાય છે.
Lord Agni (instructional narration in the Agni Purana’s rājadharma/nīti section)
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Sandhi Resolution Notes: dharmāgamo → dharma + āgamaḥ; rakṣaṇācca → rakṣaṇāt + ca; pāpamāpnoty- → pāpam + āpnoti; āpnotyarakṣaṇāt → āpnoti + arakṣaṇāt; viṭabhīteव → viṭabhītā + iva; rājavallabhataskaraiḥ is a compound in instrumental plural.
FAQs
It imparts nīti/rajadharma knowledge: a ruler’s core technical duty is rakṣaṇa (protection); neglect (arakṣaṇa) is itself a source of pāpa (moral/legal fault).
It shows the Agni Purana’s coverage of practical statecraft: beyond rituals and theology, it codifies governance principles—public security, accountability, and the ethics of administration.
Protection sustains dharma and yields merit, while negligence generates pāpa; the verse frames governance failures as karmically consequential, not merely administrative mistakes.