Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

सहस्रकमलानां च स्मेराणां स्वयमेव हि । नवप्रसूतां कपिलां सुशीलां च पयस्विनीम्

Transliteration

sahasrakamalānāṃ ca smerāṇāṃ svayameva hi | navaprasūtāṃ kapilāṃ suśīlāṃ ca payasvinīm

Translation

Ferner soll er aus eigenem Antrieb eine kapilā, eine fahlbraune Kuh, darbringen: frisch gekalbt, sanftmütig, wohlerzogen und milchreich, zusammen mit tausend frischen, lieblichen Lotosblüten.

Word by Word

• सहस्रकमलानाम्: of a thousand lotuses
• सहस्रकमलानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र + कमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सहस्रस्य कमलानि)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• स्मेराणाम्: of smiling/pleasant (ones)
• स्मेराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मेर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• स्वयम्: by oneself
• स्वयम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्वयमेव = emphatic adverbial usage

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• हि: for/indeed
• हि: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ/निश्चये निपातः (particle: for/indeed)

• नवप्रसूताम्: newly calved
• नवप्रसूताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव + प्रसूत (प्रातिपदिक; √सू (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘प्रसूत’; कर्मधारयः (नवा प्रसूता)

• कपिलाम्: a tawny cow
• कपिलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• सुशीलाम्: well-behaved
• सुशीलाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + शील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (सुशील = good-natured)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पयस्विनीम्: milk-giving, full of milk
• पयस्विनीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पयस्विनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devout couple in Kāśī prepares a kapilā cow newly calved, garlanded, with a tray of a thousand fresh lotuses; the Ganga and temple spires form the sacred backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• ācārya (implied in the ritual context)
• kapilā (cow)
• kamala (lotus)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Voluntary generosity—especially pure gifts like a milk-yielding cow and sacred lotuses—is upheld as a direct means to gain auspicious merit in Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is the Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī) māhātmya, where dharmic gifts and vows are said to yield amplified spiritual fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna: offering a newly calved, gentle, milk-rich kapilā cow along with a thousand lotuses.