Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3
ईश्वर उवाच । यथा काष्ठमयो हस्ती यथा चर्ममयो मृगः । ब्राह्मणश्चानधीयानस्त्रयस्ते नामधारकाः
īśvara uvāca | yathā kāṣṭhamayo hastī yathā carmamayo mṛgaḥ | brāhmaṇaścānadhīyānastrayaste nāmadhārakāḥ
Le Seigneur dit : «De même qu’un éléphant fait de bois, et qu’un cerf fait de cuir, de même le brahmane qui n’étudie pas le Veda : tous trois ne sont que des porteurs de nom.»
Īśvara (Śiva)
Scene: Īśvara instructs a seeker with stark similes: a carved wooden elephant, a hide-made deer, and a ‘brāhmaṇa’ without study—three outward forms lacking inner essence.
FAQs
Spiritual identity is validated by discipline and learning; mere labels without practice are hollow.
No specific tīrtha is praised in this verse; it delivers a dharma principle.
It implies that for śrāddha/dāna, a non-studying ‘Brahmin’ is not an ideal recipient, being only a “name-bearer.”