Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 89
नापरीक्ष्य नयेद्दण्डं न च मंत्रं प्रकाशयेत् । विसृजेन्न च लुब्धेभ्यो विश्वसेन्नापकारिषु
nāparīkṣya nayeddaṇḍaṃ na ca maṃtraṃ prakāśayet | visṛjenna ca lubdhebhyo viśvasennāpakāriṣu
อย่าลงโทษโดยไม่ไต่สวนให้ถ่องแท้ และอย่าเปิดเผยคำปรึกษาอันเป็นความลับ. อย่ามอบภาระให้คนโลภ และอย่าไว้วางใจผู้ที่เคยทำร้าย.
Unspecified (didactic instruction within the narrative of Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A king sits in judgment with a balance scale and palm-leaf records; a sealed manuscript symbolizes secret counsel; a greedy minister is shown reaching for coins while being turned away; a scar-marked offender stands at a distance, untrusted.
FAQs
Dharma in leadership requires discernment, restraint, and careful trust—justice without inquiry and secrecy without discipline both lead to decline.
The wider context is the Prabhāsa region, within the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya, where dharmic conduct supports the sanctity and stability of sacred land and rule.
No ritual is prescribed here; it gives nīti (ethical governance) instructions about punishment, secrecy, and trust.