Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 7
इत्थं तस्य गुणग्रामान्विकथ्य बहुशः खगाः । नाद्यापि वृण्वते राज्ये कमपि स्वैरचारिणः
itthaṃ tasya guṇagrāmānvikathya bahuśaḥ khagāḥ | nādyāpi vṛṇvate rājye kamapi svairacāriṇaḥ
Assim, repetidas vezes, após narrarem a multidão de suas qualidades, as aves declararam que, ainda hoje, não escolhem como rei alguém que aja apenas segundo o próprio capricho.
Skanda (deduced Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative voice)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (typical frame)
Scene: A council-like gathering of birds in a forested royal domain, repeatedly recounting a former king’s virtues, refusing to accept a capricious ruler; the mood is sober and didactic.
FAQs
Authority should be grounded in dharma and virtue, not in self-willed, arbitrary conduct.
The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa (Kāśī/Varanasi) narrative frame, though this particular line emphasizes dharmic governance rather than a named tīrtha.
None; the verse is ethical instruction (rāja-dharma) rather than a vrata, dāna, or snāna rule.