Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 41
वेदो मंत्रमयः साक्षात्तथा सूक्तमयो भृशम् । सूक्ते प्रतिष्ठितो ह्यात्मा सर्वेषामपि देहिनाम्
vedo maṃtramayaḥ sākṣāttathā sūktamayo bhṛśam | sūkte pratiṣṭhito hyātmā sarveṣāmapi dehinām
พระเวทเป็นมนตรมยโดยตรง และอุดมด้วยบทสุกตะเป็นอันมาก ในบทสุกตะเหล่านั้น อาตมันของสรรพสัตว์ผู้มีร่างกายย่อมตั้งมั่นอยู่
Śiva (continuing Mahādeva’s speech)
Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Nandin
Scene: Śiva expounds the Veda’s nature: a living body of mantras and hymns, wherein the Self is grounded for all beings—cosmic, luminous, and contemplative.
FAQs
Sacred sound (mantra and sūkta) is not mere ritual: it points to and supports realization of the Ātman in all beings.
Kedāra is the contextual sacred landscape; the verse emphasizes the sanctity of Vedic speech within that Shaiva setting.
No specific rite is prescribed, but the verse implicitly upholds mantra/hymn recitation as spiritually foundational.