Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18
सर्वपाषंडधर्मज्ञः कदाचिद्ब्रह्मवाद्यभूत् । ऐंद्रजालिक आसीच्च कदाचिद्भ्रामयञ्जनान्
sarvapāṣaṃḍadharmajñaḥ kadācidbrahmavādyabhūt | aiṃdrajālika āsīcca kadācidbhrāmayañjanān
কেতিয়াবা তেওঁ সকলো পাষণ্ড-মতৰ ধৰ্ম-সিদ্ধান্ত জানোতা হৈ উঠিছিল; কেতিয়াবা ব্ৰহ্মবাদৰ উচ্চ বক্তা ৰূপে দেখা দিছিল। আৰু কেতিয়াবা ইন্দ্ৰজালিক মায়াবী হৈ জাদুকৰী কৌশলেৰে লোকক বিভ্ৰম কৰিছিল।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśī Khaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis
Scene: A charismatic wanderer in Kāśī shifts guises—now a sectarian disputant, now a lofty brahmavādin, now a street illusionist—drawing a ring of onlookers near a ghat, while true sādhus watch with quiet concern.
FAQs
Eloquence, sectarian learning, or ‘miracles’ can mislead; true dharma is recognized by integrity and right conduct.
Kāśī, depicted as a spiritual arena where truth must be distinguished from deception.
None; the focus is on the ethical-spiritual need for discernment.