Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 85
एकमप्यक्षरं यस्तु गुरुः शिष्ये निवेदयेत् । पृथिव्यां नास्ति तद्द्रव्यं यद्दत्त्वा चानृणी भवेत्
ekamapyakṣaraṃ yastu guruḥ śiṣye nivedayet | pṛthivyāṃ nāsti taddravyaṃ yaddattvā cānṛṇī bhavet
ഗുരു ശിഷ്യനോട് ഒരു അക്ഷരം പോലും ഉപദേശിച്ചാൽ, ആ കടം തീർക്കാൻ ഭൂമിയിൽ ഒന്നുമില്ല; എന്തു ദാനം ചെയ്താലും അനൃണനാകുവാൻ കഴിയില്ല।
Śākalya (admonishing Yājñavalkya)
Listener: Śaunaka et al. (implied)
Scene: Śākalya delivers a solemn maxim: the debt to a guru for even a single syllable cannot be repaid by any earthly gift; the court falls silent in recognition of the truth.
FAQs
Knowledge is sacred; the debt owed to one’s teacher is immeasurable, calling for lifelong reverence, service, and humility.
No particular site is named; the verse delivers a dharma-teaching embedded within a tīrtha-māhātmya narrative.
No specific rite; it prescribes an ethical obligation—repaying the guru through conduct and service rather than material compensation.