Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 47
अश्रद्धां चैव दुर्मेधामविद्यायाः सुते उभे । श्रद्धामेधाविघातिन्यौ मर्त्येषु पर्यचोदयत्
aśraddhāṃ caiva durmedhāmavidyāyāḥ sute ubhe | śraddhāmedhāvighātinyau martyeṣu paryacodayat
उसने अविद्या की दोनों पुत्रियों—अश्रद्धा और दुर्मेधा—को मर्त्यलोक में भेजा, जो मनुष्यों की श्रद्धा और सद्बुद्धि का नाश करती हैं।
Purāṇic narrator (Brahmā’s action described)
Scene: Two shadowy feminine figures—Aśraddhā and Durmedhā—emerge from Avidyā and move among humans, dimming their devotion and clouding their intellect; japa beads slip from hands, sacred texts close.
FAQs
Faith (śraddhā) and clear understanding (medhā) are essential for spiritual practice; their loss becomes a principal obstacle.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse is an allegorical explanation of spiritual obstruction.
Implicitly, it warns that japa requires śraddhā and medhā; without them, practice is undermined.