Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

मम वंद्यस्त्वयं विष्णुः प्रणमत्वममुं हरिम् । इत्युक्त्वाथ स्वयं रुद्रो ननाम गरुडध्वजम्

Transliteration

mama vaṃdyastvayaṃ viṣṇuḥ praṇamatvamamuṃ harim | ityuktvātha svayaṃ rudro nanāma garuḍadhvajam

Translation

「このヴィシュヌは、我にとっても礼拝すべき御方である。かのハリに帰依して礼拝せよ。」そう言って、ルドラ自ら、ガルダを旗印とする主に頭を垂れて礼拝した。

Word by Word

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; सम्बन्ध (my)

• vandyaḥ: worthy of reverence
• vandyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vandya (प्रातिपदिक; from √vand धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (worthy of salutation)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विशेषार्थक (indeed/however)

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (Subject/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समनाधिकरण (apposition to ayam)

• praṇama: bow (to)
• praṇama: Kriyā (Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√nam (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Addressee as subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; सम्बोधनार्थे कर्तृ (you)

• amum: that (yonder)
• amum: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (अदस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (that yonder)

• harim: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• harim: Karman (Object/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; अमुम् इत्यस्य विशेष्य/समनाधिकरण

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyaparisaṃkhyā (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इति-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Gerundial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having said’

• atha: then
• atha: Kāla (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थक (then/thereupon)

• svayam: himself
• svayam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्वयम् (personally)

• rudraḥ: Rudra (Śiva)
• rudraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• nanāma: bowed
• nanāma: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• garuḍa-dhvajam: Garuḍa-bannered one (Viṣṇu)
• garuḍa-dhvajam: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garuḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (गरुडः ध्वजः यस्य) बहुधा कर्मधारयवत् प्रयोगः; विष्णोः विशेषणनाम

Speaker

Narrator (within Kāśīkhaṇḍa tradition: Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudra proclaims Viṣṇu as venerable even to himself and instructs Brahmā to bow; then Rudra performs a full namaskāra to Garuḍadhvaja (Viṣṇu), who stands serene with Garuḍa-banner, conch and discus, radiating calm authority.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra (Śiva)
• Viṣṇu/Hari
• Brahmā
• Garuḍa-dhvaja (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Humility is supreme: even Rudra models reverence, teaching devotees to honor the Divine beyond sectarian pride.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred frame in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where such acts of reverence magnify the city’s spiritual authority.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Praṇāma (bowing/namaskāra) is explicitly enjoined as a devotional act.