Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
इन्द्रजालमिदं किं ते किं वा मंत्रप्रसाधनम् । देवानां वा प्रसादोऽयं यत्त्वं चैतादृशः स्थितः
indrajālamidaṃ kiṃ te kiṃ vā maṃtraprasādhanam | devānāṃ vā prasādo'yaṃ yattvaṃ caitādṛśaḥ sthitaḥ
हे काय—इंद्रजालासारखी माया आहे का? की मंत्रसाधनेचे सामर्थ्य? की देवांचा प्रसादच आहे, म्हणून तू असा अद्भुत अवस्थेत येथे उभा आहेस?
Unspecified interlocutor (within Sūta’s narrated dialogue)
Type: kshetra
Listener: The extraordinary male figure being questioned
Scene: A questioning figure gestures in astonishment toward a man standing in an uncanny, radiant or altered condition; the atmosphere suggests a miracle or disguise being suspected.
FAQs
Extraordinary powers and appearances are questioned as either illusion, mantra-accomplishment, or divine grace—prompting discernment and humility.
The verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya setting, but this particular line focuses on the cause of a wondrous condition rather than naming a tirtha explicitly.
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it contrasts mantra-practice with divine favor.