Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 46
एकस्तु यो याति कथं न क्लिश्यते मूर्खो न जानाति भवं महेश्वरम् । स्नात्वा न पश्यंति हरं महेश्वरं दैवेन ते वै मुषिता नराधमाः
ekastu yo yāti kathaṃ na kliśyate mūrkho na jānāti bhavaṃ maheśvaram | snātvā na paśyaṃti haraṃ maheśvaraṃ daivena te vai muṣitā narādhamāḥ
Wie sollte ein Mensch, der allein geht, nicht bedrängt werden? Der Tor erkennt Bhava, den Großen Herrn Maheśvara, nicht. Selbst nach dem Bad an der Tīrtha schauen sie Hara, Maheśvara, nicht — durch das Geschick sind jene niedrigsten Menschen wahrlich verblendet und des rechten Verstehens beraubt.
Unspecified (contextual narrator within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa māhātmya discourse)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha tīrtha (within Prabhāsa)
Type: ghat
Listener: null
Scene: A lone bather emerges from sacred water, yet his gaze is turned away from the temple where Hara stands radiant; shadowy figures of delusion (moha) tug at him, while a sage gestures toward the deity, symbolizing guidance.
FAQs
Pilgrimage and ritual bathing bear fruit only when joined with true recognition and devotion to Śiva; without inner vision, one misses the Lord even at a sacred place.
The verse occurs in the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, pointing to the sanctity of Vastrāpatha and its Śaiva darśana.
Tīrtha-snānā (sacred bathing) is referenced, with emphasis that it should culminate in Śiva-darśana (beholding Hara/Maheśvara).