Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 128
किं न श्रुतः पुरा गीतः श्लोकः स्वायंभुवेन यः । यथा बालेषु निक्षिप्ताः स्त्रीषु षंडितकेषु च । अपस्मारीषु चैवापि सर्वे ते संशयं गताः
kiṃ na śrutaḥ purā gītaḥ ślokaḥ svāyaṃbhuvena yaḥ | yathā bāleṣu nikṣiptāḥ strīṣu ṣaṃḍitakeṣu ca | apasmārīṣu caivāpi sarve te saṃśayaṃ gatāḥ
「スヴァーヤンブヴァ（マヌ）が昔に詠じた詩句を、汝らは聞かなかったのか。『事を幼子に、女に、宦官に、さらには癲癇の者に委ねれば、皆ことごとく疑いと混乱に陥る』と。」
Viṣṇu (Hari) speaking to the Devas
Scene: Hari invokes an old maxim of Svāyambhuva Manu; devas listen with chastened faces; the proverb hangs over the scene like a moral banner amid the battlefield.
FAQs
Dharma thrives under qualified leadership and clear discernment; entrusting grave matters to the unfit produces doubt and disorder.
No tīrtha is referenced; the verse functions as a nīti (ethical) citation within the story.
None.