Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 88
कौमारे कर्णवेधेन मातापित्रोर्विताडनैः । अक्षराध्ययनाद्यैश्च दुःखं स्याद्गुरुशासनात्
kaumāre karṇavedhena mātāpitrorvitāḍanaiḥ | akṣarādhyayanādyaiśca duḥkhaṃ syādguruśāsanāt
কৈশোরে কর্ণভেদে, মাতা-পিতার দণ্ডে, এবং অক্ষর অধ্যয়ন প্রভৃতিতে দুঃখ হয়; গুরুর শাসন থেকেও কষ্ট জন্মায়।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative convention)
Scene: A boy undergoing karṇavedha with elders present; a teacher holding a palm-leaf manuscript and stylus; the child’s mixed fear and resolve; the scene balanced to show dharma’s structure yet the pain of formation.
FAQs
Even the formative stage of learning and saṃskāras involves hardship; hence one should not imagine worldly life as uninterrupted ease.
No tīrtha is referenced in this verse.
Karṇavedha (ear-piercing) is mentioned as a life-rite/saṃskāra contextually, but no procedure or vow is prescribed here.