Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 47
Chapter 226 — राजधर्माः
Rājadharma: Royal Duties and Daṇḍanīti
रक्षास्वधिकृतैयस्तु प्रजात्यर्थं विलुप्यते तेषां सर्वस्वमादाय राजा कुर्यात् प्रवासनं
rakṣāsvadhikṛtaiyastu prajātyarthaṃ vilupyate teṣāṃ sarvasvamādāya rājā kuryāt pravāsanaṃ
रक्षास्वधिकृतः कश्चित् यदि स्वार्थं प्रजाः विलुप्यते, तस्य सर्वस्वमादाय राजा तं प्रवासयेत्।
Lord Agni (in dialogue with sage Vasiṣṭha)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: rakṣāsvadhikṛtaiyastu = rakṣāsu adhikṛtaiḥ tu; prajātyarthaṃ = prajāti-artham; sarvasvamādāya = sarvasvam ādāya.
FAQs
It imparts rajadharma (statecraft/jurisprudence): officials tasked with protection who exploit the populace are to be punished through confiscation of wealth and exile.
Alongside ritual and theology, the Agni Purana preserves practical governance norms—administrative ethics, anti-corruption measures, and penal policy—showing its broad, encyclopedic coverage of dharma in public life.
Misusing a protective duty to harm subjects is treated as a grave adharma; the king’s punishment functions as social purification and deterrence, restoring dharmic order and reducing collective harm.