Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

अनाशकेन वा भूयः स गच्छेच्छिवमन्दिरम् । नरनारायणीतीरे देवद्रोण्यां च यो नृप

Transliteration

anāśakena vā bhūyaḥ sa gacchecchivamandiram | naranārāyaṇītīre devadroṇyāṃ ca yo nṛpa

Translation

…അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ഉപവാസത്തോടെ ദേഹത്യാഗം ചെയ്താലും, അവൻ ശിവധാമത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുന്നു. ഹേ നൃപാ! നര-നാരായണീ തീരത്ത്, ദേവദ്രോണിയിൽ ആരെങ്കിലും (അങ്ങനെ ചെയ്താൽ)…

Word by Word

• anāśakena: by fasting / with abstinence from food
• anāśakena: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anāśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Alternative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्यय (or)

• bhūyaḥ: again/further
• bhūyaḥ: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūyas (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: काल/पुनरावृत्ति-वाचक-अव्यय (adverb: again/more)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• śiva-mandiram: Śiva’s temple
• śiva-mandiram: Karma (Goal/object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + mandira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• nara-nārāyaṇī-tīre: on the bank of (the river) Naranārāyaṇī
• nara-nārāyaṇī-tīre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + nārāyaṇī (प्रातिपदिक) + tīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• devadroṇyām: in Devadroṇī (place-name)
• devadroṇyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + droṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (and)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Relative subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nara-Nārāyaṇī-tīra; Devadroṇī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene riverbank labeled Nara-Nārāyaṇī with a small sacred basin (Devadroṇī) like a stone-lined pool; an ascetic in controlled vow sits in meditation; a distant Śiva shrine glows, suggesting ‘Śiva-mandira’ as the destination.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śiva-mandira (Śiva’s abode)
• Nara-Nārāyaṇī (river)
• Devadroṇī (tīrtha/place)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text intensifies tīrtha-māhātmya by associating certain places and vows with direct approach to Śiva’s realm.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Devadroṇī and the bank of the Nara-Nārāyaṇī are explicitly named as sacred loci.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Anāśaka (fasting), presented as an extreme vow, is mentioned as leading to Śiva’s abode when connected with the sacred setting.