Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 45
अविद्यो वा सविद्यो वा ब्राह्मणो मम दैवतम् । प्रणीतश्चाप्रणीतश्च यथाग्निर्दैवतं महत्
avidyo vā savidyo vā brāhmaṇo mama daivatam | praṇītaścāpraṇītaśca yathāgnirdaivataṃ mahat
Qu’il soit ignorant ou savant, le brāhmaṇa est ma divinité. Qu’il soit allumé ou non, le feu demeure, en l’un et l’autre état, une grande puissance divine.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the assembled sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahādevī / Pārvatī (addressed as ‘varānane’, ‘mahādevī’)
Scene: A didactic scene in Prabhāsa: a revered brāhmaṇa seated calmly; beside him a fire-altar with both a bright flame and an unkindled ember shown symbolically, illustrating inherent divinity.
FAQs
Reverence is due to the Brāhmaṇa-status as a dharmic principle, not merely to external measures of learning or display.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where dharma of honoring Brāhmaṇas is taught as part of the sacred-place greatness.
No specific rite is detailed; the verse establishes a rule of unwavering reverence, illustrated through the agni analogy.