Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 32
गतेषु तेषु सर्वेषु समाधिस्थोऽभवद्भवः । आत्मानमात्मना कृत्वा आत्मन्येन विचंतयन्
gateṣu teṣu sarveṣu samādhistho'bhavadbhavaḥ | ātmānamātmanā kṛtvā ātmanyena vicaṃtayan
Als sie alle fortgegangen waren, blieb Bhava (Śiva) im Samādhi gegründet—indem er das Selbst zum Mittel machte, das Selbst zu erkennen, und allein im Selbst verweilend betrachtete.
Sūta narrating
Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)
Type: kshetra
Scene: After the devas depart, the scene empties: Śiva alone, immovable in samādhi; the environment becomes symbolic—still air, muted colors, a sense of the cosmos folding inward; the ‘Self contemplating the Self’ is shown through concentric halos or inward-turning gaze.
FAQs
Liberating contemplation is inward: the Self is both the path and the goal, stabilized through samādhi.
The verse occurs within Kedārakhaṇḍa, associated with Kedāra’s sanctity, but its focus is metaphysical meditation rather than a site’s merit.
No external ritual; it points to samādhi and inner self-contemplation (ātma-vicāra).