Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 9
ऋषय ऊचुः । अज्ञानिनो वयं कामान्न विंदामोऽस्य संस्थितिम् । त्वं ह्यात्मा परमात्मा च प्रकृतिस्त्वं विभाविनी
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | ajñānino vayaṃ kāmānna viṃdāmo'sya saṃsthitim | tvaṃ hyātmā paramātmā ca prakṛtistvaṃ vibhāvinī
ঋষিরা বললেন—আমরা অজ্ঞ; কামনায় চালিত হয়ে এর সত্য অবস্থা বুঝি না। আপনি-ই আত্মা ও পরমাত্মা; আপনিই প্রকাশিনী প্রকৃতি-শক্তি।
Ṛṣayaḥ (Sages)
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage audience; within scene, Ṛṣis speak to Maheśvara
Scene: Sages with lowered heads confess ignorance; behind them, symbolic forms appear—an inner flame (ātman), a vast cosmic figure (paramātman), and a flowing feminine radiance (prakṛti/śakti) merging into the liṅga’s light.
FAQs
Desire-born ignorance obscures reality; the Divine is both the inner Self and the Supreme, and also the manifesting power (Prakṛti).
The setting is Kedārakhaṇḍa, oriented to the greatness of Kedāra/Kedārakṣetra within the Skanda Purana’s sacred geography.
None explicitly; the verse is a philosophical praise (stuti) and confession of limitation.