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

Tại thánh địa Nara–Nārāyaṇa, Ta hiện hữu chính trong hình tướng và bản thể của Nara–Nārāyaṇa. Người mộ đạo lễ bái Ta nơi ấy với lòng bhakti, quả thật được thấm nhuần bản tính Nara–Nārāyaṇa.

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).