Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 5
Chapter 226 — राजधर्माः
Rājadharma: Royal Duties and Daṇḍanīti
मध्यमः पञ्च विज्ञेयः सहस्रमपि चोत्तमः चौरैर् अमूषितो यस्तु मूषितो ऽस्मीति भाषते
madhyamaḥ pañca vijñeyaḥ sahasramapi cottamaḥ caurair amūṣito yastu mūṣito 'smīti bhāṣate
Ang katamtamang multa ay dapat maunawaan bilang limang daan, at ang pinakamataas ay isang libo. Ngunit ang hindi naman ninakawan ng mga magnanakaw subalit nagsasabing, “Ako’y ninakawan,” (ay mananagot sa nararapat na parusa).
Lord Agni (in instruction to Vasiṣṭha, in the Agni Purana’s rajadharma discourse)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: samanya
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सहस्रमपि → सहस्रम् अपि; चोत्तमः → च उत्तमः; चौरैर् → चौरैः; यस्तु → यः तु; मूषितो ऽस्मीति → मूषितः अस्मि इति.
FAQs
It imparts juridical grading of fines (middle and highest) and establishes liability for making a false claim of having been robbed—an applied rule of vyavahāra (legal procedure).
Alongside ritual and theology, the Agni Purana preserves practical governance material—criminal classification, monetary penalties, and evidentiary/statement-based offences—showing its coverage of statecraft and law.
False declarations are treated as adharma: they corrupt justice, harm others through deception, and accrue negative karma; truthful speech supports social order and dharmic merit.