Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 59
प्रजासंतापजोवह्निर्वज्राग्नेरपि दारुणः । द्वित्रान्दहति वज्राग्निः पूर्वो राज्यं कुलं तनुम्
prajāsaṃtāpajovahnirvajrāgnerapi dāruṇaḥ | dvitrāndahati vajrāgniḥ pūrvo rājyaṃ kulaṃ tanum
प्रजासन्तापजः वह्निः वज्राग्नेरपि दारुणः। वज्राग्निः द्वित्रान् दहति; स तु पूर्वः राज्यं कुलं तनुं च भस्मसात् करोति।
A dharmaśīla king (addressing a Brāhmaṇa)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: An allegorical vision: a dark, towering flame labeled ‘prajā-santāpa’ rises from weeping citizens and engulfs palace, family banner, and the king’s silhouette; beside it a smaller lightning-fire burns only a few trees—contrast of scale.
FAQs
A ruler must fear the suffering of the people more than any external calamity; injustice invites total ruin.
The verse is embedded in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative milieu of Kāśī, though no single tīrtha is named in this line.
No ritual is prescribed; it is a warning that ethical governance is itself a decisive religious obligation.