Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 71
श्रावयेद्वैदिकं मंत्रं न शूद्राय कदाचन । ब्राह्मण्याद्धीयते विप्रः शूद्रो धर्माच्च हीयते
śrāvayedvaidikaṃ maṃtraṃ na śūdrāya kadācana | brāhmaṇyāddhīyate vipraḥ śūdro dharmācca hīyate
Man soll niemals ein vedisches Mantra so rezitieren oder lehren, dass es ein Śūdra hört. Durch solches Verhalten sinkt ein Brāhmaṇa aus der Brāhmanenschaft herab, und auch der Śūdra, so heißt es, fällt dadurch von Dharma ab.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A traditional pāṭhaśālā setting in Kāśī: a brāhmaṇa teacher recites Veda to eligible students; at the doorway, others receive a Purāṇic kathā or Śiva-nāma instruction; the scene conveys guarded transmission and alternative inclusive devotion.
FAQs
It frames mantra-transmission as a regulated tradition and warns that violating the rule harms dharmic standing.
The guidance is situated in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s dharma-instructions for Kāśī, rather than a named tīrtha.
Do not teach/recite Vedic mantras for a Śūdra to hear (as per this passage’s traditional injunction).