Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 35
स्मरोऽपि न शशाकाथ प्रवेष्टुं हृदयं तयोः । विद्यामयं दीपयुतमन्धकार इवालयम्
smaro'pi na śaśākātha praveṣṭuṃ hṛdayaṃ tayoḥ | vidyāmayaṃ dīpayutamandhakāra ivālayam
Même Smara (Kāma) ne put pénétrer leurs cœurs, comme l’obscurité ne peut entrer dans une demeure emplie de lumière et rendue radieuse par la connaissance.
Narrator
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrthas (general Revākhaṇḍa setting)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame)
Scene: Two ascetics seated in meditation, their hearts depicted as a lamp-lit sanctum of knowledge; Kāma stands outside unable to enter, like darkness repelled by radiance.
FAQs
Desire cannot overpower a heart illumined by knowledge; inner light is the true protection of dharma.
The verse is primarily ethical-yogic; within Revā Khaṇḍa it supports the sanctity of ascetic spaces but does not name a particular tīrtha.
None; it teaches a principle: cultivate vidyā (spiritual knowledge) to dispel the darkness of passion.