Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 52
यतः सर्वः क्षत्रियस्य दंड्यो विपथिसंस्थि तः । आत्मापिदंड्यः साधूनां प्रवृत्तः कुपथाद्यदि
yataḥ sarvaḥ kṣatriyasya daṃḍyo vipathisaṃsthi taḥ | ātmāpidaṃḍyaḥ sādhūnāṃ pravṛttaḥ kupathādyadi
தவறான பாதையில் நிற்பவன் எவராயினும் க்ஷத்திரியனால் தண்டிக்கப்படத் தக்கவன்; தன் ஆன்மாவே தீய வழிக்குத் திரும்பினால், அது கூட சான்றோரின் பார்வையில் தண்டிக்கத் தக்கதாகும்.
Bhīmasena
Scene: A didactic courtly scene: a kṣatriya-king holding the daṇḍa (scepter/staff of justice) while a sage points to a forked road—one bright (satpatha), one dark (kupatha)—signifying external law and inner moral scrutiny.
FAQs
Righteous governance and personal ethics both demand correction of wrongdoing—externally by just authority and internally through self-accountability.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the focus is kṣatra-dharma and moral responsibility.
No ritual is prescribed; it speaks of daṇḍa (discipline/punishment) as a dharmic principle.