Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 81
यदा न पठते बालः स्तौति नो पितरं स्वकम् । दण्डेनाहत्य गुरुणा प्रह्लादः प्रेरितः पुनः । वदैकं वचनं शिष्य देहि मे गुरुदक्षिणाम्
yadā na paṭhate bālaḥ stauti no pitaraṃ svakam | daṇḍenāhatya guruṇā prahlādaḥ preritaḥ punaḥ | vadaikaṃ vacanaṃ śiṣya dehi me gurudakṣiṇām
Comme l’enfant ne voulait ni réciter ni louer son propre père, le maître le frappa d’un bâton et pressa de nouveau Prahlāda : «Dis une seule parole, disciple ; donne-moi ma guru-dakṣiṇā, l’offrande due au maître».
Narrator (then direct speech by the Guru/teacher)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (within Prabhāsa)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrim-audience/ṛṣi interlocutor in the mahatmya frame (contextual)
Scene: A young Prahlāda stands before a stern teacher holding a staff; the boy refuses to recite praise of his father, embodying fearless devotion amid a classroom-like setting.
FAQs
Education without dharma becomes coercion; true wisdom cannot be forced when conscience is anchored in devotion.
The verse is part of the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya narrative in Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa.
Guru-dakṣiṇā is mentioned as the traditional offering to one’s teacher, though here it is demanded in a coercive context.