Shloka 20
Āraṇyaka Parva, Adhyāya 233 — Pandavas Mobilize; Arjuna’s Conciliation and the Onset of Combat
स्कन्दस्य य इदं विप्र: पठेज्जन्म समाहित: । श्रावयेद् बाह्मणेभ्यो य: शृणुयाद् वा द्विजेरितम्,जो ब्राह्मण एकाग्रचित्त हो स्कन्ददेवके इस जन्म-वृत्तान्तको पढ़ता है, ब्राह्मणोंको सुनाता है अथवा स्वयं ब्राह्मणके मुखसे सुनता है, वह धन, आयु, उज्ज्वल यश, पुत्र, शत्रुविजय तथा तुष्टि-पुष्टि पाकर अन्तमें स्कन्दके लोकमें जाता है
skandasya yad idaṁ vipraḥ paṭhej janma samāhitaḥ | śrāvayed brāhmaṇebhyo yaḥ śṛṇuyād vā dvijeritām ||
قال ماركاندييا: «يا براهمن، من تلا بقلبٍ مجموعٍ هذا الخبر عن مولد سكَندا—أو جعله مسموعًا لدى البراهمة، أو سمعه بنفسه من فمِ أحدِ “ذوي الميلادين”—نال الغنى، وطول العمر، والذكر اللامع، والبنين، والغلبة على الأعداء، وبركتيِ القوتِ والرضا؛ ثم في النهاية يمضي إلى عالم سكَندا».
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the religious efficacy of disciplined engagement with sacred narrative: reciting, facilitating recitation, or reverently listening—especially from a qualified dvija—yields both worldly well-being (prosperity, longevity, fame, offspring, victory) and a spiritual culmination (attaining Skanda’s realm). It emphasizes focused mind (samāhita) and the merit of śravaṇa/paṭhana.
At the close of the Skanda birth-account within Mārkaṇḍeya’s discourse, a phalaśruti is given: a formal statement of the fruits obtained by those who recite or hear the story. It functions as a concluding benediction and an incentive to preserve and transmit the narrative through recitation and listening.