Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

तारयेन्नियतं दत्ता कुलानामेकविंशतिम् । रौप्यखुरीं कांस्यदोहां सवस्त्रां च पयस्विनीम्

Transliteration

tārayenniyataṃ dattā kulānāmekaviṃśatim | raupyakhurīṃ kāṃsyadohāṃ savastrāṃ ca payasvinīm

Translation

Wird eine solche Kuh gewiss verschenkt, so erlöst sie unfehlbar einundzwanzig Generationen. (Man schenke) eine milchgebende Kuh—mit silbern geschmückten Hufen, einem bronzenen Melkgefäß und mit Tuch versehen.

Word by Word

• tārayet: should ferry across/save
• tārayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tṝ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• niyatam: certainly
• niyatam: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: niyata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभूत (adverbial accusative: 'certainly/regularly')

• dattā: (when) given
• dattā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dā (धातु) → datta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तृ-सम्बन्धे (given [cow])

• kulānām: of families/lineages
• kulānām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• eka-viṃśatim: twenty-one
• eka-viṃśatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + viṃśati (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (संख्याशब्द), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (संख्या-समाहार)

• raupya-khurīm: having silver hooves
• raupya-khurīm: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raupya (प्रातिपदिक) + khurī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (रौप्याः खुराः यस्याः)

• kāṃsya-dohām: with a bronze milking-vessel
• kāṃsya-dohām: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāṃsya (प्रातिपदिक) + dohā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (कांस्यः दोहः/दोहनी यस्याः)

• sa-vastrām: with cloth/garment
• sa-vastrām: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय/पूर्वपद) + vastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सहार्थक-समास (सहित)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• payasvinīm: milk-yielding
• payasvinīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: payasvinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; गुणवाचक

Speaker

Narrator addressing the King (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King / ruler addressed

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ceremonial donation: a white or brown milk-giving cow stands adorned; hooves gleam with silver coverings; a bronze milking pot is placed beside; a fine cloth drapes her back. The brāhmaṇa recipient blesses the donor as ancestors appear faintly in the background, rising upward.

Characters & Entities

• go-dāna
• kula (lineage)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Go-dāna is portrayed as a lineage-liberating act whose merit extends to ancestors and descendants.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa setting supports the teaching, but the verse centers on the fruit of go-dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gift a milk-yielding cow with proper honoring—optionally with silver-adorned hooves, a bronze milking implement, and cloth.