Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 32
गतेषु तेषु सर्वेषु समाधिस्थोऽभवद्भवः । आत्मानमात्मना कृत्वा आत्मन्येन विचंतयन्
gateṣu teṣu sarveṣu samādhistho'bhavadbhavaḥ | ātmānamātmanā kṛtvā ātmanyena vicaṃtayan
ते सर्व निघून गेल्यावर भव (शिव) समाधिस्थ झाले—आत्म्याला आत्म्यानेच साधून, आत्म्यातच निरंतर चिंतन करीत।
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).