Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 80
अग्रं धर्मस्य राजानो मूलं धर्मस्य ब्राह्मणाः । तस्मान्मूलं न हिंसीत मूले ह्यग्रं प्रतिष्ठितम्
agraṃ dharmasya rājāno mūlaṃ dharmasya brāhmaṇāḥ | tasmānmūlaṃ na hiṃsīta mūle hyagraṃ pratiṣṭhitam
พระราชาเป็นส่วนหน้าแห่งธรรม แต่พราหมณ์ทั้งหลายเป็นรากแห่งธรรม ฉะนั้นอย่าทำร้ายรากเลย เพราะส่วนหน้าตั้งมั่นอยู่บนรากนั้น
Unknown (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya; likely Sūta relating the teaching)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A symbolic tableau: a flourishing tree labeled ‘Dharma’; its crown bears a king’s insignia, while the roots are brāhmaṇas chanting; a warning motif shows an axe near the roots with a ‘do not harm’ gesture.
FAQs
Social order and dharma stand firm when the spiritual root—represented by Brāhmaṇas and sacred learning—is protected.
Within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, the verse teaches the dharma that sustains the sanctity of the Prabhāsa tirtha-region.
Not a ritual, but a rāja-dharma directive: do not harm Brāhmaṇas; protect the foundations of dharma.