Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

अर्चयित्वा नरो भक्त्या देवं नारदकेशवम् । जनन्या जठरं पीठमध्यास्ते न कदाचन

Transliteration

arcayitvā naro bhaktyā devaṃ nāradakeśavam | jananyā jaṭharaṃ pīṭhamadhyāste na kadācana

Translation

Wer den Herrn Nārada‑Keśava in hingebungsvoller Andacht verehrt hat, liegt niemals wieder im Schoß der Mutter, noch ruht er je auf dem Gebärsitz.

Word by Word

• अर्चयित्वा: having worshipped
• अर्चयित्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive) — having worshipped

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• देवम्: the god
• देवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular

• नारद-केशवम्: Nārada-Keśava
• नारद-केशवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक) + केशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular; समासः द्वन्द्वः (नारदश्च केशवश्च) — as a name

• जनन्याः: of (one's) mother
• जनन्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जननी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — Genitive singular

• जठरम्: womb/belly
• जठरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जठर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular

• पीठम्: back
• पीठम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular

• अध्यास्ते: sits upon/afflicts
• अध्यास्ते: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अधि + आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — sits upon/occupies

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• कदाचन: ever
• कदाचन: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचन (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक (adverb of time) — ever/at any time

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically Skanda instructing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nārada-Keśava (sannidhi)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a Kāśī shrine, the devotee offers flowers and lamp to Nārada-Keśava; behind the devotee, a symbolic wheel of births breaks, and a faint womb/serpent motif dissolves into light—signifying apunarbhava.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada-Keśava
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional worship at a sanctified Kāśī shrine is portrayed as leading to liberation—ending the cycle of rebirth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The shrine of Nārada-Keśava in Kāśī, connected to the nearby Nārada-tīrtha tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Arcana (formal worship) of the deity Nārada-Keśava performed with bhakti.