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

ഭക്തിയോടെ ദേവനായ നാരദ-കേശവനെ ആരാധിച്ചാൽ മനുഷ്യൻ ഇനി ഒരിക്കലും മാതാവിന്റെ ഗർഭത്തിൽ പതിക്കുകയില്ല; പ്രസവപീഠത്തിലും ശയിക്കുകയില്ല।

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.