Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 71
श्रावयेद्वैदिकं मंत्रं न शूद्राय कदाचन । ब्राह्मण्याद्धीयते विप्रः शूद्रो धर्माच्च हीयते
śrāvayedvaidikaṃ maṃtraṃ na śūdrāya kadācana | brāhmaṇyāddhīyate vipraḥ śūdro dharmācca hīyate
شودر کو سنانے کے لیے کبھی ویدک منتر نہ پڑھا جائے اور نہ سکھایا جائے۔ اس عمل سے وِپر برہمنیت سے گرتا ہے، اور شودر بھی دھرم سے دور ہو جاتا ہے، ایسا کہا گیا ہے۔
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A traditional pāṭhaśālā setting in Kāśī: a brāhmaṇa teacher recites Veda to eligible students; at the doorway, others receive a Purāṇic kathā or Śiva-nāma instruction; the scene conveys guarded transmission and alternative inclusive devotion.
FAQs
It frames mantra-transmission as a regulated tradition and warns that violating the rule harms dharmic standing.
The guidance is situated in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s dharma-instructions for Kāśī, rather than a named tīrtha.
Do not teach/recite Vedic mantras for a Śūdra to hear (as per this passage’s traditional injunction).