Sankaranarayanan is a combined form of Shiva and Vishnu.
Legend has it that once Goddess Parvati performed intense austerities to see
Shiva and Vishnu together. To please her, Shiva is believed to have appeared in
the form of Shankaranarayana. Temples dedicated to the Sankaranarayana is
mainly found in South India - Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Scholars are of the view that the murti of Sankara Narayana
was an attempt to find peace among Shaiva and Vaishnava devotees.
Hindu religious scholars claim the murti explains the core
teaching of Hinduism that all gods and goddess are one – the different forms
are just manifestation of one single Supreme Being (Brahman).
An important prayer dedicated to the deity is the famous Sankara
Narayana stotram.