Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54
मम वंद्यस्त्वयं विष्णुः प्रणमत्वममुं हरिम् । इत्युक्त्वाथ स्वयं रुद्रो ननाम गरुडध्वजम्
mama vaṃdyastvayaṃ viṣṇuḥ praṇamatvamamuṃ harim | ityuktvātha svayaṃ rudro nanāma garuḍadhvajam
“ഈ വിഷ്ണു എനിക്കും വന്ദനീയൻ—നീ ഈ ഹരിയെ പ്രണാമം ചെയ്യുക.” എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞ് സ്വയം രുദ്രൻ ഗരുഡധ്വജനായ പ്രഭുവിനെ നമസ്കരിച്ചു.
Narrator (within Kāśīkhaṇḍa tradition: Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages
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.
FAQs
Humility is supreme: even Rudra models reverence, teaching devotees to honor the Divine beyond sectarian pride.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred frame in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where such acts of reverence magnify the city’s spiritual authority.
Praṇāma (bowing/namaskāra) is explicitly enjoined as a devotional act.