Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 83
विष्णोर्वक्षसि या लक्ष्मीः स्वाहा चैव विभावसोः । स्वधा या पितृमुख्यानां सा धेनुर्वरदा सदा
viṣṇorvakṣasi yā lakṣmīḥ svāhā caiva vibhāvasoḥ | svadhā yā pitṛmukhyānāṃ sā dhenurvaradā sadā
Sie, die als Lakṣmī auf Viṣṇus Brust weilt, und sie, die als Svāhā dem Feuergott gilt; sie, die als Svadhā den erhabenen Ahnen zukommt—sie ist die Kuh, stets die Spenderin von Gaben.
Skanda
Scene: Tripartite symbolism around a cow: Viṣṇu with Lakṣmī at the chest, Agni receiving svāhā, and pitṛs receiving svadhā—three ritual worlds converging into the cow as varadā.
FAQs
The cow is exalted as the unified sacred principle behind prosperity (Lakṣmī), Vedic offering (svāhā), and ancestral rites (svadhā).
The emphasis is theological within Kāśī Khaṇḍa; it supports Kāśī’s dharma-culture of yajña, dāna, and pitṛ-kriyā.
Implicit support for yajña and pitṛ rites: svāhā offerings to Agni and svadhā offerings to pitṛs, alongside honoring the dhenu as their sacred ground.