Nara-Narayana

Nara Narayana
The twin form of Nara Narayana Deva at the Swaminarayan Temple Ahmedabad
Devanagari	नर-नारायण
Sanskrit transliteration	nara-nārāyaṇa
Affiliation	Avatar of Vishnu
Abode	Badrinath

Nara-Narayana (Sanskrit: नर-नारायण; nara-nārāyaṇa) is a Hindu deity pair. Nara-Narayana is the twin-brother avatar of the God Vishnu on earth, working for the preservation of dharma or righteousness. In the concept of Nara-Narayana, the human soul Nara is the eternal companion of the Divine Narayana.

The Hindu epic Mahabharata identifies the God Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu) with Narayana and Arjuna - the chief hero of the epic - with Nara. The legend of Nara-Narayana is also told in the scripture Bhagavata Purana. Hindus believe that the pair dwells at Badrinath, where their most important temple stands.

The Nara-Narayana pair is frequently worshipped in temples of the Swaminarayan Faith. The followers of the sect believe that their founder Swaminarayan Bhagwan resides in the murti of Naranarayan Dev in Kalupur Mandir

The name "Nara-Narayana" can be broken into two Sanskrit terms, nara and Narayana. Nara means human, and Narayana refers to the name of the deity.

Monier-Williams dictionary says Nara is "the primeval Man or eternal Spirit pervading the universe (always associated with Narayana, "son of the primeval man"; both are considered either as gods or sages and accordingly called देवौ, ऋषी, तापसौ. In epic poetry, they are the sons of Dharma by Murti or Ahimsa and emanations of Vishnu, Arjuna being identified with Nara, and Krishna with Narayana.- Mahabharata, Harivamsa and Purana". Narayana is Vishnu while Nara is Shesha