Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

उडुपोपरि तां धेनुं सूर्यदेहसमुद्भवाम् । कृत्वा प्रकल्पयेद्विद्वाञ्छत्त्रोपानद्युगान्विताम्

Transliteration

uḍupopari tāṃ dhenuṃ sūryadehasamudbhavām | kṛtvā prakalpayedvidvāñchattropānadyugānvitām

Translation

Auf dieses Floß soll der Gelehrte die Kuh setzen, strahlend, als sei sie aus dem Leib der Sonne hervorgegangen, und sie rituell mit einem Sonnenschirm und einem Paar Sandalen ausstatten.

Word by Word

• उडुप-उपरि: upon the boat
• उडुप-उपरि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उडुप (प्रातिपदिक) + उपरि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभावार्थे प्रयोगः; ‘उपरि’ = अधिकरणार्थक-अव्यय (on/above)

• ताम्: that (her)
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (pronoun)

• धेनुम्: cow
• धेनुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धेनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सूर्यदेहसमुद्भवाम्: born from the Sun’s body
• सूर्यदेहसमुद्भवाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूर्य-देह-समुद्भवा (प्रातिपदिक; सूर्य + देह + समुद्भवा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः ‘arisen from the body of the Sun’

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया-पूर्व)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक (having done/made)

• प्रकल्पयेत्: should arrange/prepare
• प्रकल्पयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-कल्पय् (धातु; causative of √कॢप्)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन (3rd sg. opt.)

• विद्वान्: a learned man
• विद्वान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्वस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक (the learned one)

• छत्त्रोपानद्युगान्विताम्: endowed with an umbrella and a pair of sandals
• छत्त्रोपानद्युगान्विताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छत्र-उपानद्-युग-अन्वित (प्रातिपदिक; छत्र + उपानद् + युग + अन्वित)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः ‘endowed with a pair of umbrella and sandals’ (समाहार/तत्पुरुष-श्रृङ्खला)

Speaker

Unspecified (Revākhaṇḍa dialogue context; a Purāṇic narrator instructing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā tīrtha (contextual)

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a small sugarcane raft floats/stands the ritual cow, glowing with sun-like radiance; a parasol is held above, and sandals are placed as offerings—river and sky framing a luminous centerpiece.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya (Sun)
• uḍupa (raft)
• dhenu (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna is portrayed as providing ‘equipment’ for the soul—comfort, protection, and passage—through symbolic offerings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger Revākhaṇḍa context associates such rites with the merit of the Revā (Narmadā) sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Placing the cow on the raft and furnishing her with a parasol and a pair of sandals.