Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

नरनारायणाख्यं हि ततस्तीर्थं शुभप्रदम् । तत्तीर्थमज्जनात्पुंसां गर्भवासः सुदुर्लभः

Transliteration

naranārāyaṇākhyaṃ hi tatastīrthaṃ śubhapradam | tattīrthamajjanātpuṃsāṃ garbhavāsaḥ sudurlabhaḥ

Translation

त्यानंतर नर-नारायण नावाचे तीर्थ आहे, जे शुभफल देणारे आहे. त्या तीर्थात स्नान केल्याने लोकांसाठी गर्भवास (पुनर्जन्म) अत्यंत दुर्मिळ होतो.

Word by Word

• nara-nārāyaṇa-ākhyam: named ‘Nara-Nārāyaṇa’
• nara-nārāyaṇa-ākhyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + nārāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘nara-nārāyaṇa iti ākhyā yasya’—विशेषणम् (qualifying tīrtham)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (particle) — हेतौ/निश्चये ‘indeed/for’

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण: ‘thereafter’

• tīrtham: the tīrtha
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śubha-pradam: bestowing auspiciousness
• śubha-pradam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक) + prada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः: ‘śubhaṃ pradadāti’—विशेषणम्

• tat: of that
• tat: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun) — ‘of that’

• tīrtha-majjanāt: from bathing/immersion in the tīrtha
• tīrtha-majjanāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + majjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘tīrthe majjanam’; ‘-āt’ = ‘from/by (as cause)’

• puṃsām: of men/people
• puṃsām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃs (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• garbha-vāsaḥ: dwelling in the womb (rebirth)
• garbha-vāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garbha (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘garbhe vāsaḥ’

• su-durlabhaḥ: very hard to obtain (i.e., becomes rare)
• su-durlabhaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (अव्यय-उपसर्ग/उपपद) + durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः/उपपद-समासः: ‘ati-durlabhaḥ’—विशेषणम् (qualifying garbhavāsaḥ)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nara-Nārāyaṇa-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two serene ascetic figures (Nara and Nārāyaṇa) seated in meditation posture, with a small Kāśī tīrtha pool/ghāṭ in the foreground; pilgrims bathe quietly; the city’s temples rise softly behind mist.

Characters & Entities

• Nara-Nārāyaṇa-tīrtha
• Nara
• Nārāyaṇa
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Garbha-vāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is portrayed as a path to liberation: tīrtha-bathing can weaken the bondage of repeated birth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nara-Nārāyaṇa-tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Majjana/Snāna—ritual immersion or bathing in the tīrtha.