Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78
विषादं हि तृतीयेन सिद्धः प्राणोथ योगिनः । भवेत्क्रमात्सन्निरुद्धः सिद्धः प्राणोथ योगिना । क्रमेण सेव्यमानोसौ नयते यत्र चेच्छति
viṣādaṃ hi tṛtīyena siddhaḥ prāṇotha yoginaḥ | bhavetkramātsanniruddhaḥ siddhaḥ prāṇotha yoginā | krameṇa sevyamānosau nayate yatra cecchati
یقیناً تیسرے درجے سے ملال بھی مغلوب ہو جاتا ہے؛ تب یوگی کا پران سدھ ہو جاتا ہے۔ جب پران بتدریج پوری طرح روکا اور مسخر کیا جائے تو وہ مسلسل سادھنا سے یوگی کو جہاں وہ چاہے لے جاتا ہے۔
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A yogin in deep restraint; prāṇa visualized as a luminous current coiling within suṣumṇā; the city of Kāśī appears as a sacred mandala behind, suggesting inner and outer pilgrimage merging.
FAQs
Persistent, graded discipline culminates in prāṇa-siddhi, where mastery of breath supports mastery of one’s inner and outer movement.
The teaching is embedded in Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-oriented liberation tradition, without naming a specific tīrtha in this verse.
Advance to the third grade to overcome dejection; continue gradual practice until prāṇa is thoroughly restrained and mastered.