Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 82
राजा वृक्षो ब्राह्मणास्तस्य मूलं पौराः पर्णं मन्त्रिणस्तस्य शाखाः । तस्माद्राज्ञा ब्राह्मणा रक्षणीया मूले गुप्ते नास्ति वृक्षस्य नाशः
rājā vṛkṣo brāhmaṇāstasya mūlaṃ paurāḥ parṇaṃ mantriṇastasya śākhāḥ | tasmādrājñā brāhmaṇā rakṣaṇīyā mūle gupte nāsti vṛkṣasya nāśaḥ
بادشاہ ایک درخت ہے، برہمن اس کی جڑ ہیں؛ شہری اس کے پتے ہیں، اور وزیر اس کی شاخیں۔ اس لیے بادشاہ پر لازم ہے کہ برہمنوں کی حفاظت کرے—جب جڑ محفوظ ہو تو درخت کا زوال نہیں ہوتا۔
Unknown (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya; likely Sūta relating the teaching)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A grand ‘polity-tree’ diagram: the king as trunk with royal insignia; ministers as branching limbs holding scrolls/seals; citizens as many leaves; brāhmaṇas as deep roots glowing with mantra. A protective fence encircles the roots.
FAQs
A stable kingdom depends on protecting its dharmic roots—spiritual learning, integrity, and those who preserve sacred norms.
The discourse is situated in Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, portraying Prabhāsa as a dharma-centered sacred geography.
No specific rite; it is a rāja-dharma prescription: institutional protection of Brāhmaṇas and dharma.