Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 57
जडवद्वर्त्तमानः स मातृकां प्रत्यपद्यत । पठित्वा मातृकामन्यन्नाध्येति स कथंचन
jaḍavadvarttamānaḥ sa mātṛkāṃ pratyapadyata | paṭhitvā mātṛkāmanyannādhyeti sa kathaṃcana
Wie ein Stumpfsinniger lebend, wandte er sich nur dem Erlernen des Alphabets zu; und selbst nachdem er die Buchstaben gemeistert hatte, konnte er auf keinerlei Weise zu weiterem Studium fortschreiten.
Narrator (contextual, likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Māheśvarakhaṇḍa frame)
Listener: dvija (brāhmaṇa interlocutor)
Scene: A young boy sits before a teacher with a writing board/palm leaf, repeatedly tracing letters; the father-scholar watches with mixed concern and restraint; the scene carries gentle irony rather than cruelty.
FAQs
Mere basics are not the goal; learning should mature into understanding and transformation, not stop at form.
No holy site is referenced in this verse.
None; it describes a person’s inability to advance in study.