Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 20
भुक्त्वा निर्याति सायाह्ने वनं न ज्ञायते जनैः । योगीश्वरोऽसौ तद्रूपाः सन्त्यन्ये लिंगधारिणः
bhuktvā niryāti sāyāhne vanaṃ na jñāyate janaiḥ | yogīśvaro'sau tadrūpāḥ santyanye liṃgadhāriṇaḥ
भोजन करून सायंकाळी तो वनात निघून जातो; लोकांना तो ओळखू येत नाही. तो योगीश्वर आहे; आणि त्याच्यासारखे रूप असलेले इतर लिंगधारीही आहेत.
Narrator (describing Saṃvarta and Kāśī’s ascetics)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) — vana-sīmā (forest boundary)
Type: kshetra
Scene: At late afternoon, the ascetic slips from crowded Kāśī into a shadowed forest path; townspeople fail to recognize him. In the background, other similar liṅga-bearers appear like reflections—suggesting a secret fraternity.
FAQs
The greatest yogīs may remain unknown to society; spiritual excellence can be hidden beneath ordinary or startling appearances.
By context, Kāśī/Vārāṇasī is implied as the setting where such concealed yogīs and liṅga-bearers dwell.
None explicitly; it implicitly advises discernment and reverence toward ascetics, recognizing that true saints may be unidentifiable.