Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 50
ब्राह्मणत्वं त्रिभिर्लोकैर्दुर्लभं पद्मलोचने । संस्कारैः संस्कृतो विप्रो यैश्च जायेत तच्छृणु
brāhmaṇatvaṃ tribhirlokairdurlabhaṃ padmalocane | saṃskāraiḥ saṃskṛto vipro yaiśca jāyeta tacchṛṇu
«L’état de brāhmaṇa est difficile à obtenir même à travers les trois mondes, ô toi aux yeux de lotus. Le brāhmaṇa est affiné par les saṃskāras ; écoute quels sont ces rites par lesquels il le devient véritablement.»
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)
Type: river
Listener: Addressed as ‘padma-locane’ (lotus-eyed)
Scene: A teaching tableau: Mārkaṇḍeya addressing a ‘lotus-eyed’ listener; palm-leaf texts; sacred thread, yajñopavīta, and ritual items symbolizing saṃskāra; a calm riverbank hermitage ambience.
FAQs
Spiritual and social identity in dharma is safeguarded by disciplined rites (saṃskāras), not merely by birth-claim or convenience.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse is doctrinal, occurring within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred milieu.
Saṃskāras are introduced as the means of refinement; the subsequent verses enumerate them.