Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 24
ते हि पापसमाचारास्तस्करेभ्योऽपि तस्कराः । प्राग्दृष्टदोषान्स्वल्पेषु दिव्येषु विनियोजयेत्
te hi pāpasamācārāstaskarebhyo'pi taskarāḥ | prāgdṛṣṭadoṣānsvalpeṣu divyeṣu viniyojayet
हे पापाचारी लोक चोरांपेक्षाही मोठे चोर आहेत। ज्यांचे दोष आधीच दिसून आले आहेत, त्यांना राजाने पूर्वानुभवानुसार लहान दिव्य-परिक्षांतच नेमावे।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced for Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)
Scene: A courtroom tableau with two sets of ordeals: minor implements on one side, major on the other; scribes record prior offenses; the king points to the minor ordeal for a known wrongdoer while dharmic elders nod, emphasizing measured justice.
FAQs
Dharma requires discernment: punishment and testing should match a person’s proven conduct, not mere suspicion.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it focuses on rājadharma and judicial procedure.
It refers to using minor ‘divya’ ordeals (divya-parīkṣā) for those with previously established faults.