Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40
प्रजानिजकुटुंबस्त्वं त्वं तु भूदेवदैवतः । महातपः सहायस्त्वं पथानान्ये तथा नृपाः
prajānijakuṭuṃbastvaṃ tvaṃ tu bhūdevadaivataḥ | mahātapaḥ sahāyastvaṃ pathānānye tathā nṛpāḥ
ನೀನು ಪ್ರಜೆಗಳನ್ನು ಸ್ವಕುಟುಂಬದಂತೆ ಪಾಲಿಸುತ್ತೀಯ; ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರಿಗೆ ನೀನು ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ದೇವತಾಸಮಾನ. ನೀನು ಮಹಾತಪಸ್ವಿಗಳ ಸಹಾಯಕ; ಇತರ ರಾಜರು ಮಾತ್ರ ಲೋಕಿಕ ಮಾರ್ಗಗಳ ಸಹಾಯಕರಷ್ಟೇ.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue style)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Divodāsa
Scene: A learned brāhmaṇa or sage addresses King Divodāsa in a courtly setting, praising his familial care for subjects and reverence for brāhmaṇas; ascetics stand nearby, symbolizing royal support of tapas.
FAQs
Rajadharma is service: protecting the people, honoring brāhmaṇas, and supporting ascetic life.
No particular tīrtha is named; the verse supports the Kāśī ethos of dharma-protection.
None explicitly; it prescribes a king’s duty of support toward tapasvīs and brāhmaṇas.