Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 76
प्रजासु च विरक्तासु राज्यकामदुघासु वै । कृच्छ्रेणोपार्जितोऽपार्थो राजशब्दो भविष्यति
prajāsu ca viraktāsu rājyakāmadughāsu vai | kṛcchreṇopārjito'pārtho rājaśabdo bhaviṣyati
പ്രജകൾ വിരക്തരാകുമ്പോൾ—രാജ്യം കാമധേനുവുപോലെ ഇഷ്ടഫലങ്ങൾ നൽകുന്നതായിരുന്നാലും—കഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടു നേടിയ ‘രാജാ’ എന്ന നാമം പോലും അർത്ഥശൂന്യമാകുന്നു।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A solitary king on a throne whose insignia (crown, parasol) appear heavy and fading, while the people turn away; the city of Kāśī glows in the background, suggesting a higher, enduring sovereignty of dharma.
FAQs
Authority without the goodwill and welfare of the people becomes empty; dharma sustains kingship.
The verse is within Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kashi framework, but this specific line teaches rāja-dharma rather than naming a particular tīrtha.
None explicitly; it is an ethical instruction on governance and duty.