Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 79
आदिशेद्वैदिकं मंत्रं न शूद्राय कदाचन । ब्राह्मण्या दीयते विप्रः शूद्रो धर्म्माच्च हीयते
ādiśedvaidikaṃ maṃtraṃ na śūdrāya kadācana | brāhmaṇyā dīyate vipraḥ śūdro dharmmācca hīyate
ശൂദ്രനോട് ഒരിക്കലും വൈദികമന്ത്രം ഉപദേശിക്കരുത്; ബ്രാഹ്മണൻ ബ്രാഹ്മണ്യാചാരത്തിൽ നിലനിൽക്കും, ശൂദ്രൻ സ്വധർമ്മം വിട്ടാൽ ഹീനനാകും.
Unknown (Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa instructional narration; speaker not explicit in snippet)
Scene: A guru in a teaching pavilion instructs qualified students with palm-leaf manuscripts; outside the inner circle, other devotees perform nāma-japa and offer flowers, indicating differentiated paths of practice.
FAQs
The verse asserts that spiritual order is guarded by boundaries of transmission and by steadfastness in one’s prescribed dharma.
No tīrtha is mentioned.
A restriction on transmitting Vedic mantras to Śūdras, along with a reminder that spiritual standing is tied to adherence to one’s dharma.