Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

नित्यं नमति यो राज शिवनारायणावुभौ । गोदानफलमाप्नोति तस्य तीर्थप्रभावतः

Transliteration

nityaṃ namati yo rāja śivanārāyaṇāvubhau | godānaphalamāpnoti tasya tīrthaprabhāvataḥ

Translation

O König, wer täglich vor Śiva und Nārāyaṇa, vor beiden, sich verneigt, erlangt durch die machtvolle Heiligkeit dieses Tīrtha das Verdienst einer Kuhspende.

Word by Word

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb: always)

• नमति: bows; pays obeisance
• नमति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम—कर्ता

• राज: O king
• राज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• शिव-नारायणौ: Śiva and Nārāyaṇa
• शिव-नारायणौ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), द्विवचन; कर्म—नमति इत्यस्य

• उभौ: both
• उभौ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), द्विवचन; ‘शिवनारायणौ’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• गोदान-फलम्: the fruit of gifting a cow
• गोदान-फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदान (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्म—‘आप्नोति’ इत्यस्य

• आप्नोति: obtains
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• तीर्थ-प्रभावतः: due to the power of the sacred place
• तीर्थ-प्रभावतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; हेतौ/कारणार्थे—‘प्रभावात्’

Speaker

Unknown (context suggests a Purāṇic narrator addressing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rudraghaṭa (Revā-tīrtha)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim (or the king) performs daily prostration before paired shrines or a unified Harihara icon at the river ghat; the scene conveys calm regular devotion and the quiet grandeur of go-dāna merit.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Nārāyaṇa
• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverence to both Hari and Hara unifies devotion, and the tīrtha magnifies even simple daily acts into great merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Revā tīrtha near a Śiva-kṣetra, where Hari-Hara devotion is especially efficacious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Daily namaskāra (bowing) to Śiva and Nārāyaṇa, yielding the merit equivalent to go-dāna.