Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 23
मया सह भवद्भिश्च कथं सख्यं प्रवर्तते । सर्वथात्र न विज्ञेयाः के यूयं चैव क ह्यहम्
mayā saha bhavadbhiśca kathaṃ sakhyaṃ pravartate | sarvathātra na vijñeyāḥ ke yūyaṃ caiva ka hyaham
«Comment une amitié véritable pourrait-elle naître entre vous tous et moi ? Car ici, en toute manière, on ne sait pas qui vous êtes, ni qui je suis, en vérité.»
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration style)
Tirtha: Kedāra / Kedāranātha
Type: kshetra
Scene: A poised, enigmatic speaker (Mohinī/disguised divinity) questions the possibility of friendship due to unknown identities, creating suspense in an asura court.
FAQs
True relationship and trust rest on discernment—without clarity about one’s own nature and the other’s, friendship cannot be firmly established.
The verse occurs within the Kedārakhaṇḍa, which celebrates Kedāra (Kedārnāth) and its sacred Shaiva landscape, though this particular line is a reflective dialogue rather than direct site-praise.
No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is stated in this shloka; it focuses on inquiry into identity within the broader Kedāra-māhātmya narrative.