Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4
ईश्वर उवाच । सच्छूद्रैरपि नो कार्या वेदाक्षरविचारणा । न श्रोतव्या न पठ्या च पठन्नरकभाग्भवेत्
īśvara uvāca | sacchūdrairapi no kāryā vedākṣaravicāraṇā | na śrotavyā na paṭhyā ca paṭhannarakabhāgbhavet
Īśvara dit : Même les « bons śūdras » ne doivent pas s’adonner à l’examen des lettres du Veda. Il ne faut ni l’écouter ni le réciter ; celui qui le récite devient ayant-part de l’enfer.
Īśvara (Śiva)
Listener: Skanda (and accompanying sages/audience implied)
Scene: A didactic assembly: Īśvara seated as teacher, speaking sternly about śāstra-boundaries; Skanda and sages listen; palm-leaf manuscripts and a sacrificial setting appear in the background to signal Vedic context.
FAQs
Within the text’s traditional framework, it asserts strict boundaries around Vedic study and recitation, linking transgression to negative karmic consequence.
No tīrtha is named; the verse is a normative instruction within the dialogue.
A prohibition regarding Vedic hearing/recitation and Veda-syllable analysis for those labeled sacchūdra.