Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 113

Devanagari script

श्वेता वा कपिला वापि क्षीरिणी पाण्डुनन्दन । सवत्सा च सुशीला च सितवस्त्रावगुण्ठिता

Transliteration

śvetā vā kapilā vāpi kṣīriṇī pāṇḍunandana | savatsā ca suśīlā ca sitavastrāvaguṇṭhitā

Translation

سواء كانت بيضاء أو سمراء مائلة إلى الصفرة، غزيرة اللبن، يا ابن باندو؛ ومع عجلها، لطيفة الطبع، ومغطّاة بثوب أبيض—فهذه بقرة تُقدَّم هبةً.

Word by Word

• śvetā: white (cow)
• śvetā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: “or”)

• kapilā: tawny/brownish
• kapilā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: “or”)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (particle: “also/even”)

• kṣīriṇī: milk-giving, milch
• kṣīriṇī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣīrin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• pāṇḍu-nandana: O son of Pāṇḍu
• pāṇḍu-nandana: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇḍu (प्रातिपदिक) + nandana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• sa-vatsā: with a calf
• sa-vatsā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग/सह) + vatsā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); ‘वatsa’ सहित (having a calf)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: “and”)

• su-śīlā: good-natured, well-behaved
• su-śīlā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग) + śīlā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: “and”)

• sita-vastra-avaguṇṭhitā: covered/veiled with white cloth
• sita-vastra-avaguṇṭhitā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sita (प्रातिपदिक) + vastra (प्रातिपदिक) + avaguṇṭhita (कृदन्त; √guṇṭh/guṇṭh (धातु) with ava-; past participle)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (continuing instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hanūmanteśvara (Revā-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā (addressed as Pāṇḍu-nandana in the verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene temple forecourt near the Revā; a gentle white or tawny cow with her calf stands draped in a white cloth, prepared for ritual gifting; donors and priests arrange offerings.

Characters & Entities

• Pāṇḍunandana (Yudhiṣṭhira)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity should be thoughtful and auspicious—offering a healthy, gentle, life-sustaining cow is portrayed as a high dharmic gift.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site; the focus is on the dharma of gifting within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred merit framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Guidelines for Gau-dāna: a milk-yielding cow, with calf, gentle, and ceremonially covered with a white cloth.