Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44
न च पद्मासनाद्योगो न वा घ्राणाग्रवीक्षणात् । न शौचे न न मौनेन न मंत्राराधनैरपि
na ca padmāsanādyogo na vā ghrāṇāgravīkṣaṇāt | na śauce na na maunena na maṃtrārādhanairapi
Yoga không thành chỉ nhờ ngồi kiết già (padmāsana), cũng không nhờ chăm chú nhìn chóp mũi. Không bởi các nghi thức thanh tịnh (śauca), không bởi im lặng (mauna), và cũng không chỉ bởi việc thờ trì thần chú.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Seekers inclined to technique/ritual (contextual)
Scene: A yogin in padmāsana with nose-tip gaze shown as a preliminary layer; behind/within, a subtler depiction of the same yogin dissolving into inner stillness; ritual purity acts and mantra-japa appear as peripheral motifs, secondary to inner absorption.
FAQs
Techniques and observances are supports, but yoga is not fulfilled by them alone without deeper inner steadiness and realization.
The instruction is embedded in Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī setting, aligning yogic attainment with the city’s liberation-centered ethos.
It negates sufficiency of śauca, mauna, and mantrārādhana as standalone means; it implies the need for deeper practice.