Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79
आरण्यकमधीत्यापि बाणसाम्नोरपि ध्वनौ । अनध्यायेषु चैतेषु नाधीयीत द्विजः क्वचित्
āraṇyakamadhītyāpi bāṇasāmnorapi dhvanau | anadhyāyeṣu caiteṣu nādhīyīta dvijaḥ kvacit
Even if one is studying the Āraṇyakas, when the sounds of arrows and the chanting of Sāmans are heard, and in all such anadhyāya situations, a twice-born (dvija) should not study anywhere at all.
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).