Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 90
अहो मोहस्य माहात्म्यं पश्यताविजितात्मनाम् । पठंति मातृकां पापा मन्यंते न सुरानिह
aho mohasya māhātmyaṃ paśyatāvijitātmanām | paṭhaṃti mātṛkāṃ pāpā manyaṃte na surāniha
అహో! ఆత్మజయం లేనివారిలో మోహం ఎంత మహత్తరమో చూడండి—పాపులు ‘మాతృకా’ పఠిస్తారు, అయినా ఇక్కడ దేవతలను అసలు అంగీకరించరు।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced: Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)
Listener: Ṛṣi-audience (frame typical)
Scene: A contrast scene: a person mechanically chanting letters on a rosary while a luminous assembly of devas stands nearby unacknowledged; above, a personification of Moha casts a veil over the chanter’s eyes.
FAQs
Mantra-recitation without self-mastery and reverence becomes hollow, driven by delusion rather than dharma.
No holy site is referenced; the emphasis is on inner discipline and right religious orientation.
Recitation of mātṛkā (alphabet/seed-mantra set) is mentioned, but criticized when divorced from deva-reverence.