Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10
वेदास्त्वां न च विंदंति किमात्मक इति प्रभो । प्राप्ताः शतपथत्वं च नेतिनेतीतिवादिनः
vedāstvāṃ na ca viṃdaṃti kimātmaka iti prabho | prāptāḥ śatapathatvaṃ ca netinetītivādinaḥ
“Wahai Prabhu, Veda pun tidak sepenuhnya dapat menyingkap apakah hakikat diri-Mu. Sambil menyebut ‘neti, neti’ (bukan ini, bukan itu), mereka menempuh seratus jalan pendekatan.”
Pūtātmā
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: (contextual) frame audience
Scene: Devotee articulates Upaniṣadic awe: Vedas cannot fully fathom Śiva; ‘neti neti’ suggested through symbolic scrolls and branching paths around a radiant, formless-centered Śiva presence.
FAQs
The Supreme cannot be exhausted by words or concepts; scripture points toward Him through negation and multiple approaches.
Kāśī is the implied sacred milieu of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where the ineffability of Śiva undergirds the city’s holiness.
None directly; the verse is theological praise emphasizing the limits of verbal description.