Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 19
तेषां त्रयाणां मध्ये च विद्या मुख्यो महागुणः । विद्यां विनांधवद्विप्राश्चक्षुष्मंतो हि ते मताः
teṣāṃ trayāṇāṃ madhye ca vidyā mukhyo mahāguṇaḥ | vidyāṃ vināṃdhavadviprāścakṣuṣmaṃto hi te matāḥ
ان تینوں میں ودیا (علم) ہی سب سے بڑا اور برتر گُن ہے۔ ودیا کے بغیر برہمن بھی اندھوں کے مانند سمجھے جاتے ہیں، اگرچہ نام کے لیے انہیں ‘آنکھوں والے’ کہا جائے۔
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)
Scene: A teacher-sage holds a manuscript like a lamp; beside him a brāhmaṇa with sacred thread but no manuscript is shown with veiled eyes, illustrating ‘blindness without learning’.
FAQs
Vidyā is essential for true spiritual and moral vision; without it, status alone is hollow.
None; the verse emphasizes the inner qualification of knowledge rather than a location.
Implicitly, cultivate and honor vidyā when assessing pātratā for dāna and in living brāhmaṇa-dharma.