Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 22
दण्डस्तु विधिवत्तस्य कर्त्तव्यो वेदशास्त्रिभिः । अन्यायो न्यायवादी स्यान्निर्द्दोषे दोषदायकः
daṇḍastu vidhivattasya karttavyo vedaśāstribhiḥ | anyāyo nyāyavādī syānnirddoṣe doṣadāyakaḥ
तस्य दण्डः विधिवत् वेदशास्त्रविद्भिः कर्तव्य एव। अन्यथा न्यायवादित्वं नाम अन्यायः स्यात्—निर्दोषे दोषारोपणात्॥
Deductive: Sūta (didactic narration) in a dharma-adjudication context
Scene: A dharma-judge, flanked by Veda-śāstra scholars, weighs a case; a scale motif appears; an innocent person is shielded while a guilty party is restrained—symbolizing just punishment.
FAQs
True dharma in governance requires due process: punishing the guilty rightly and never manufacturing guilt for the innocent.
No tīrtha is directly praised; the verse is a dharma-ethical maxim within the Dharmāraṇya section.
No ritual; it prescribes judicial procedure—punishment must be given vidhivat by qualified authorities.