te - They; vai - indeed; bhagavataḥ - of the Personality of Godhead; rūpe - the personal manifestations; nara-nārāyaṇau - Nara and Nārāyaṇa; ṛṣī - the two sages; dṛṣṭvā - seeing; utthāya - standing up; ādareṇa - with respect; uccaiḥ - great; nanāma - bowed down; aṅgena - with his entire body; daṇḍa-vat - just like a stick.

These two sages, Nara and Nārāyaṇa, were the direct personal forms of the Supreme Lord. When Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi saw Them, he immediately stood up and then with great respect offered Them obeisances by falling down flat on the ground like a stick.