Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19
कृते प्रतिकृतं कुर्याद्धिंसने प्रतिहिंसनम् । न तत्र जायते दोषो यो दुष्टे दुष्टमाचरेत्
kṛte pratikṛtaṃ kuryāddhiṃsane pratihiṃsanam | na tatra jāyate doṣo yo duṣṭe duṣṭamācaret
なされた行いには対の行いを、暴虐には対抗の暴虐をなすべきである。その場合、悪しき者に対して悪しき者のごとく振る舞い、すなわち不正に応じて返す者に罪は生じない。
Narrative context (General maxim within Tīrthamāhātmya moral discourse; likely quoted as accepted dharma principle)
Scene: A moral tableau: a wrongdoer confronted by a protector of dharma; the act is restrained and proportionate, with sages witnessing as arbiters of righteousness.
FAQs
Dharma may permit proportionate response to wrongdoing, framing it as morally non-culpable when directed against the wicked.
None is named in this verse; the tīrtha context is broader than this maxim.
None; it is a normative statement about conduct.