Shloka 20
Āraṇyaka Parva, Adhyāya 233 — Pandavas Mobilize; Arjuna’s Conciliation and the Onset of Combat
स्कन्दस्य य इदं विप्र: पठेज्जन्म समाहित: । श्रावयेद् बाह्मणेभ्यो य: शृणुयाद् वा द्विजेरितम्,जो ब्राह्मण एकाग्रचित्त हो स्कन्ददेवके इस जन्म-वृत्तान्तको पढ़ता है, ब्राह्मणोंको सुनाता है अथवा स्वयं ब्राह्मणके मुखसे सुनता है, वह धन, आयु, उज्ज्वल यश, पुत्र, शत्रुविजय तथा तुष्टि-पुष्टि पाकर अन्तमें स्कन्दके लोकमें जाता है
skandasya yad idaṁ vipraḥ paṭhej janma samāhitaḥ | śrāvayed brāhmaṇebhyo yaḥ śṛṇuyād vā dvijeritām ||
Wika ni Mārkaṇḍeya: “O brāhmaṇa, sinumang may natipong diwa na bumibigkas ng salaysay na ito ng kapanganakan ni Skanda—sinumang nagpaparinig nito sa mga brāhmaṇa, o siya mismo’y nakikinig dito mula sa bibig ng isang ‘dalawang ulit na isinilang’—makakamit niya ang yaman, mahabang buhay, maningning na katanyagan, mga anak na lalaki, tagumpay laban sa mga kaaway, at ang dalawang pagpapala ng pagkatustos at pagkakasiya; at sa huli’y makararating siya sa daigdig ni Skanda.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the religious efficacy of disciplined engagement with sacred narrative: reciting, facilitating recitation, or reverently listening—especially from a qualified dvija—yields both worldly well-being (prosperity, longevity, fame, offspring, victory) and a spiritual culmination (attaining Skanda’s realm). It emphasizes focused mind (samāhita) and the merit of śravaṇa/paṭhana.
At the close of the Skanda birth-account within Mārkaṇḍeya’s discourse, a phalaśruti is given: a formal statement of the fruits obtained by those who recite or hear the story. It functions as a concluding benediction and an incentive to preserve and transmit the narrative through recitation and listening.