Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 120
य इदं श्रावयेद्विद्वान्समस्तं त्वर्धमेव वा । पादमात्रं तदर्धं वा त्वेकं व्याख्यानमुत्तमम्
ya idaṃ śrāvayedvidvānsamastaṃ tvardhameva vā | pādamātraṃ tadardhaṃ vā tvekaṃ vyākhyānamuttamam
य इदं विद्वान् श्रावयेत् समस्तं वा अर्धमेव वा । पादमात्रं तदर्धं वा, अथवा एकं उत्तमं व्याख्यानमपि (श्रावयन्) तदुक्तं पुण्यफलम् अवाप्नोति ।
Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (Naimiṣāraṇya assembly)
Scene: A learned paṇḍita recites the Kāśī-māhātmya to attentive listeners; palm-leaf manuscript on a low wooden stand; lamps and incense; Ganga-ghāṭa ambience implied.
FAQs
Even partial recitation, listening, or a single sincere explanation of sacred teaching is spiritually potent; devotion and transmission matter, not only quantity.
The verse belongs to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa framework, where Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the implied sacred setting and source of merit.
Śravaṇa/śrāvaṇa—causing the text to be heard (recitation for others) and vyākhyāna—giving an excellent exposition.