Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 19
तेषां त्रयाणां मध्ये च विद्या मुख्यो महागुणः । विद्यां विनांधवद्विप्राश्चक्षुष्मंतो हि ते मताः
teṣāṃ trayāṇāṃ madhye ca vidyā mukhyo mahāguṇaḥ | vidyāṃ vināṃdhavadviprāścakṣuṣmaṃto hi te matāḥ
Among these three, learning (vidyā) is the foremost great virtue. Without learning, even brāhmaṇas are regarded as blind—though in name they may be deemed ‘possessed of eyes’.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)
Scene: A teacher-sage holds a manuscript like a lamp; beside him a brāhmaṇa with sacred thread but no manuscript is shown with veiled eyes, illustrating ‘blindness without learning’.
FAQs
Vidyā is essential for true spiritual and moral vision; without it, status alone is hollow.
None; the verse emphasizes the inner qualification of knowledge rather than a location.
Implicitly, cultivate and honor vidyā when assessing pātratā for dāna and in living brāhmaṇa-dharma.