Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 59
प्रजासंतापजोवह्निर्वज्राग्नेरपि दारुणः । द्वित्रान्दहति वज्राग्निः पूर्वो राज्यं कुलं तनुम्
prajāsaṃtāpajovahnirvajrāgnerapi dāruṇaḥ | dvitrāndahati vajrāgniḥ pūrvo rājyaṃ kulaṃ tanum
رعایا کے دکھ سے اٹھنے والی آگ، بجلی کی آگ سے بھی زیادہ ہولناک ہے۔ بجلی کی آگ تو دو تین کو ہی جلاتی ہے، مگر وہ آگ سلطنت، خاندان اور خود حاکم کے جسم کو بھی بھسم کر دیتی ہے۔
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.