Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

नरनारायणाख्यं हि ततस्तीर्थं शुभप्रदम् । तत्तीर्थमज्जनात्पुंसां गर्भवासः सुदुर्लभः

Transliteration

naranārāyaṇākhyaṃ hi tatastīrthaṃ śubhapradam | tattīrthamajjanātpuṃsāṃ garbhavāsaḥ sudurlabhaḥ

Translation

اس کے بعد نر-نارائن نامی تیرتھ ہے جو شُبھتا عطا کرتا ہے۔ اس تیرتھ میں اشنان کرنے سے لوگوں کے لیے رحمِ مادر میں رہنے کی تکلیف دہ حالت نہایت نایاب ہو جاتی ہے۔

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.