Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

नरनारायणे तीर्थे नरनारायणात्मकम् । भक्ताः समर्च्य मां स्युर्वै नरनारायणात्मकाः

Transliteration

naranārāyaṇe tīrthe naranārāyaṇātmakam | bhaktāḥ samarcya māṃ syurvai naranārāyaṇātmakāḥ

Translation

നര-നാരായണ തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ ഞാൻ നര-നാരായണസ്വരൂപസാരമായി തന്നെ വസിക്കുന്നു. അവിടെ ഭക്തിയോടെ എന്നെ ആരാധിക്കുന്ന ഭക്തർ സത്യമായും നര-നാരായണഭാവം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• नरनारायणे: in (the) Nara-Nārāyaṇa (place/name)
• नरनारायणे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर + नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (नर-नारायणः)

• तीर्थे: in the sacred ford/pilgrimage-place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• नरनारायणात्मकम्: (me) as having the nature/essence of Nara-Nārāyaṇa
• नरनारायणात्मकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नर + नारायण + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (नरनारायण-आत्मकः = whose essence is Nara-Nārāyaṇa)

• भक्ताः: devotees
• भक्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक; √भज् (धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• समर्च्य: having duly worshipped
• समर्च्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + √अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having worshipped’

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• स्युः: would become / may be
• स्युः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphatic)

• नरनारायणात्मकाः: (they) become of the nature of Nara-Nārāyaṇa
• नरनारायणात्मकाः: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नर + नारायण + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśī Khaṇḍa dialogues)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nara-Nārāyaṇa Tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A sage (muni) / interlocutor in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa dialogue frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī riverbank tīrtha with a small shrine; the deity appears as the twin sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa—one in meditation, one in blessing—while devotees offer flowers and water, suggesting inner assimilation into their serene ascetic radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Nara-Nārāyaṇa
• Kāśī
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worship at a consecrated tīrtha transforms the devotee by aligning one’s inner nature with the deity’s dharmic essence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nara-Nārāyaṇa Tīrtha in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), praised as a place where Viṣṇu is present as Nara-Nārāyaṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Samarcana—reverent worship of the Lord at the tīrtha (offerings and devotion implied).