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
切不可诵读或传授吠陀真言使首陀罗得闻。如此行事，婆罗门将失其婆罗门之位，而首陀罗亦被说为因此而背离正法（dharma）。
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).