Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 60
यं वै वेदो वेद नो नैव विष्णुर्नोवा वेधा नो मनो नैव वाणी । तं देवेशं मादृशः कोल्पमेधा याथात्म्याद्वै वेत्त्यहो विश्वनाथम्
yaṃ vai vedo veda no naiva viṣṇurnovā vedhā no mano naiva vāṇī | taṃ deveśaṃ mādṛśaḥ kolpamedhā yāthātmyādvai vettyaho viśvanātham
مَن لا يعرفه حتى الفيدا إلا بعضَ معرفة، ولا يحيط به فيشنو ولا براهما، ولا العقل ولا الكلام إحاطةً تامة—فكيف لمثلي قليلِ الفهم أن يعرف على الحقيقة ربَّ الآلهة، فيشفَناثا، كما هو؟
Satyavatī’s son (Vyāsa) in stotra to Viśvanātha/Śiva (deduced)
Tirtha: Viśvanātha (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience of the Kāśī-māhātmya (pilgrims/seekers)
Scene: A devotee-poet stands before the Viśvanātha liṅga, hands folded; behind him faint symbolic forms of Veda scrolls, Brahmā and Viṣṇu receding into mist, indicating the Lord’s incomprehensibility.
FAQs
The Supreme (Śiva/Viśvanātha) transcends conceptual knowledge; humility is essential in approaching the divine.
Viśvanātha of Kāśī (Kāśī Viśvanātha), central to the Kāśī-māhātmya.
None; it teaches contemplative humility and the limits of speech/intellect in theology.