Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5
स ब्रह्मा स महादेवः स देवो गरुडध्वजः । पूज्यमानः सुरैः सिद्धैस्तिष्ठते ब्रह्मवादिभिः
sa brahmā sa mahādevaḥ sa devo garuḍadhvajaḥ | pūjyamānaḥ suraiḥ siddhaistiṣṭhate brahmavādibhiḥ
Er ist Brahmā; er ist Mahādeva; er ist auch der Herr, dessen Banner Garuḍa trägt. Von Göttern und Siddhas verehrt, weilt er unter den Kennern und Verkündern des Brahman.
Narrator (contextual; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Māhātmya-style narration)
Listener: a royal interlocutor
Scene: A single radiant Supreme form subtly bearing three iconographic hints: creator’s aspect (Brahmā), ascetic-lord aspect (Mahādeva), and Garuḍa-banner aspect (Viṣṇu), surrounded by devas, siddhas, and brahmavādins offering worship.
FAQs
It teaches the unity of the Supreme—seen as Brahmā, Śiva, and Viṣṇu—beyond sectarian division.
The verse occurs within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s lead-in to the Kāpila-tīrtha context on the Narmadā sacred geography.
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it is a theological praise establishing the deity’s supremacy and worship.