Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 48
यैरिदं प्रणतं लिंगं प्रणतास्ते सुरासुरैः । यस्यै केन प्रणामेन दिक्पालपदमल्पकम् । दिक्पालपदतः पातः पातः शिवनतेर्नहि
yairidaṃ praṇataṃ liṃgaṃ praṇatāste surāsuraiḥ | yasyai kena praṇāmena dikpālapadamalpakam | dikpālapadataḥ pātaḥ pātaḥ śivanaternahi
Wer sich vor diesem Liṅga verneigt, vor dem verneigen sich Götter wie Asuras. Durch eine andere Verehrung erlangt man nur ein geringes Amt, etwa das eines Hüters der Himmelsrichtungen; von diesem Amt kann man fallen—doch vom Sich-Verneigen vor Śiva gibt es keinen Fall.
Skanda (deduced; doctrinal comparison of fruits of reverence)
Tirtha: Viśveśvara Liṅga (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis/devarṣi in Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame
Scene: A devotee bows to the Viśveśvara liṅga; in response, devas and asuras alike are shown bowing to the devotee—while a separate vignette shows a dikpāla-like figure slipping from a celestial seat, illustrating ‘fall’ from office.
FAQs
Worldly and even celestial attainments can be unstable, but devotion expressed as bowing to Śiva is presented as spiritually unfailing.
Kāśī’s Viśveśvara Liṅga is the implied object of praṇāma and praise.
Praṇāma (prostration/salutation) to the Liṅga/Śiva is explicitly praised as a potent practice.