Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18
सर्वपाषंडधर्मज्ञः कदाचिद्ब्रह्मवाद्यभूत् । ऐंद्रजालिक आसीच्च कदाचिद्भ्रामयञ्जनान्
sarvapāṣaṃḍadharmajñaḥ kadācidbrahmavādyabhūt | aiṃdrajālika āsīcca kadācidbhrāmayañjanān
तो कधी सर्व पाषंडमतांचे तत्त्व जाणणारा होत असे, कधी ब्रह्मवादाचा प्रवक्ता असल्याप्रमाणे बोलत असे। आणि कधी ऐंद्रजालिक मायावी होऊन जादूच्या कृत्यांनी लोकांना भ्रमित करी॥
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.