Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 64
विश्वामित्र उवाच । श्रुतानि शास्त्राण्यपि निष्फलानि त्रय्यप्यधीता विफलैव नूनम् । त्वयीश्वरे चेन्न भवेद्धि भक्तिः श्रीरामनाथे शिव मानुषस्य
viśvāmitra uvāca | śrutāni śāstrāṇyapi niṣphalāni trayyapyadhītā viphalaiva nūnam | tvayīśvare cenna bhaveddhi bhaktiḥ śrīrāmanāthe śiva mānuṣasya
วิศวามิตรกล่าวว่า: แม้คัมภีร์ที่ได้ฟังก็กลับไร้ผล แม้ศึกษาพระเวททั้งสามก็ย่อมสูญเปล่าแน่แท้ โอ้พระศิวะ หากมนุษย์มิได้บังเกิดภักติในพระองค์ คือพระศรีรามนาถะ
Viśvāmitra
Tirtha: Rāmeśvara (Setu-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience of the māhātmya discourse (implicit) / addressed to Śiva as Śrī Rāmanātha
Scene: Viśvāmitra, the Vedic seer, gestures toward palm-leaf scriptures and a threefold Veda bundle set aside, pointing instead to the radiant Rāmeśvara liṅga as the true fruition of learning.
FAQs
Scriptural learning gains its true purpose only when it culminates in devotion to Śiva as Śrī Rāmanātha.
Setu/Rāmeśvaram, through praise of Śrī Rāmanātha as the essential focus of devotion.
No specific rite; the teaching is theological—bhakti is the indispensable ‘fruit’ of śāstra and Veda.