Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 55
अतीत्य संसारमनादिमूलं मायामयं मायया दुर्विचार्यम् । मायां त्यक्त्वा निर्ममा वीतरागा गच्छंति ते प्रेतराणिनर्विकल्पम्
atītya saṃsāramanādimūlaṃ māyāmayaṃ māyayā durvicāryam | māyāṃ tyaktvā nirmamā vītarāgā gacchaṃti te pretarāṇinarvikalpam
Ayant transcendé le saṃsāra—dont la racine est sans commencement et dont la nature est Māyā, insondable par Māyā elle-même—ceux qui renoncent à Māyā, sans appropriation ni attachement, dépassent la voie des défunts et atteignent l’état nirvikalpa, immuable et sans pensée.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative style)
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Seeker concerned with liberation and the after-death condition
Scene: A pilgrim-sage stands at Kedāra with a severed chain motif: māyā depicted as a translucent veil peeling away; behind it, a still, colorless expanse. A faint ‘preta-path’ road fades into darkness while the sage steps into light.
FAQs
Liberation comes by transcending Māyā through non-possessiveness and freedom from attachment, culminating in nirvikalpa awareness.
The teaching appears within Kedāra Khaṇḍa, associated with the Kedāranātha sacred landscape, though this verse itself is primarily philosophical.
No specific ritual is prescribed here; the emphasis is on inner renunciation (tyāga), non-attachment, and knowledge.