Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 4
यैः शत्रुसंभवा वार्ता कापि न श्रीवितस्त्वहम् । मदिराकाममत्तानां मंत्रित्वं वो न युज्यते । हितं मन्त्रयते राज्ञस्तेन मंत्री निगद्यते
yaiḥ śatrusaṃbhavā vārtā kāpi na śrīvitastvaham | madirākāmamattānāṃ maṃtritvaṃ vo na yujyate | hitaṃ mantrayate rājñastena maṃtrī nigadyate
「汝らのせいで、敵より起こるいかなる報せも我に届かぬ。酒と欲に酔う者に、参謀の務めはふさわしくない。王の利益のために諫言する者こそ、真の大臣と呼ばれるのだ。」
Tāraka
Scene: In a royal court, the daitya-king rebukes ministers for negligence and moral laxity, defining true ministership as welfare-counsel; tense assembly, stern gestures, lowered eyes of ministers.
FAQs
Dharma in governance requires sobriety, self-control, and welfare-oriented counsel; vice disqualifies one from guiding others.
None; the passage teaches rajadharma through narrative speech rather than tīrtha-māhātmya.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse prescribes ethical discipline (avoidance of intoxication and lust) as a dharmic standard.