Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 20
भुक्त्वा निर्याति सायाह्ने वनं न ज्ञायते जनैः । योगीश्वरोऽसौ तद्रूपाः सन्त्यन्ये लिंगधारिणः
bhuktvā niryāti sāyāhne vanaṃ na jñāyate janaiḥ | yogīśvaro'sau tadrūpāḥ santyanye liṃgadhāriṇaḥ
کھانا کھا کر وہ شام ڈھلے جنگل کی طرف نکل جاتا ہے اور لوگ اسے پہچان نہیں پاتے۔ وہ یوگیوں میں یوگیشور ہے؛ اور اسی صورت کے دوسرے لِنگ دھاری بھی ہیں۔
Narrator (describing Saṃvarta and Kāśī’s ascetics)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) — vana-sīmā (forest boundary)
Type: kshetra
Scene: At late afternoon, the ascetic slips from crowded Kāśī into a shadowed forest path; townspeople fail to recognize him. In the background, other similar liṅga-bearers appear like reflections—suggesting a secret fraternity.
FAQs
The greatest yogīs may remain unknown to society; spiritual excellence can be hidden beneath ordinary or startling appearances.
By context, Kāśī/Vārāṇasī is implied as the setting where such concealed yogīs and liṅga-bearers dwell.
None explicitly; it implicitly advises discernment and reverence toward ascetics, recognizing that true saints may be unidentifiable.