Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79
आरण्यकमधीत्यापि बाणसाम्नोरपि ध्वनौ । अनध्यायेषु चैतेषु नाधीयीत द्विजः क्वचित्
āraṇyakamadhītyāpi bāṇasāmnorapi dhvanau | anadhyāyeṣu caiteṣu nādhīyīta dvijaḥ kvacit
ولو كان يدرس الآرانياكا (Āraṇyaka)، فإذا سُمِع صوت السهام وترتيل السامان (Sāman)، وفي جميع أحوال الأنادهيايا (anadhyāya)، فلا يدرس «ذو الولادتين» (dvija) في أي موضع.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (normative dharma frame)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A forest-edge hermitage student with an Āraṇyaka manuscript pauses as distant arrows whistle and, elsewhere, a group chants Sāman loudly—two sound-worlds colliding, prompting disciplined silence.
FAQs
Vedic learning is protected by strict discipline: even lofty texts like Āraṇyakas are not recited during prohibited circumstances.
The instruction is embedded in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s dharma-teaching for life in sacred Kāśī.
It reiterates the rule of anadhyāya—cessation of study—triggered by certain sounds/events (e.g., warfare sounds, ritual chants nearby).