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
ఇది ఏమిటి—ఇంద్రజాలంలాంటి మాయనా? లేక మంత్రసాధన వల్ల వచ్చిన శక్తినా? లేదా దేవతల అనుగ్రహమా, నీవు ఇంత అద్భుత స్థితిలో ఇక్కడ నిలిచియుండుట?
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.