Skanda says that jiva (a living being) is Shiva. Just as before husking, it is paddy and after husking, a grain is rice, similarly bound by karma, it is a jiva and when liberated from karma, it becomes Shiva. Skanda then pays his respects to Shiva, who is a form of Vishnu and Vishnu, who is a form of Shiva. Further, Vishnu is said to dwell in the heart of Shiva and vice versa. Shiva and Vishnu are the one and the same.