Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 80
एवं ब्रह्ममयं विभाति सकलं विश्वं चरं स्थावरं विज्ञानाख्यमिदं पदं स भगवान्विष्णुः स्वयं व्यापकः । ज्ञात्वा तं शिरसि स्थितं बहुवरं योगेश्वराणां परं प्राणी मुंचति सर्पवज्जगतिजां निर्मोकमायाकृतिम्
evaṃ brahmamayaṃ vibhāti sakalaṃ viśvaṃ caraṃ sthāvaraṃ vijñānākhyamidaṃ padaṃ sa bhagavānviṣṇuḥ svayaṃ vyāpakaḥ | jñātvā taṃ śirasi sthitaṃ bahuvaraṃ yogeśvarāṇāṃ paraṃ prāṇī muṃcati sarpavajjagatijāṃ nirmokamāyākṛtim
Assim, o universo inteiro—móvel e imóvel—resplandece como Brahman. Este estado, chamado “vijñāna” (conhecimento realizado), é o próprio Bhagavān Viṣṇu, o Onipenetrante. Conhecendo-O como o supremo Bem, estabelecido na coroa da cabeça e além até dos senhores do yoga, o ser vivo lança fora o invólucro nascido do mundo, feito por māyā—como a serpente que troca de pele.
Brahmā (in Brahma–Nārada dialogue; inferred from section context)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Nārada
Scene: Cosmic vision: the universe (mobile/immobile) suffused with Brahman-light; Viṣṇu as all-pervading presence. A yogin’s subtle body with a luminous lotus at the crown; beside him a serpent shedding its skin as metaphor for casting off māyā.
FAQs
Realizing the all-pervading Lord as Brahman (vijñāna) enables one to shed māyā and attain liberation.
The verse occurs within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya of the Nāgara-khaṇḍa, praising the sanctifying power of that sacred field in the broader Cāturmāsya context.
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it emphasizes inner realization (jñāna/vijñāna) as the liberating means.