Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

यावन्ति तस्या रोमाणि सवत्सायास्तु भारत । तावद्वर्षसहस्राणि स स्वर्गे क्रीडते चिरम्

Transliteration

yāvanti tasyā romāṇi savatsāyāstu bhārata | tāvadvarṣasahasrāṇi sa svarge krīḍate ciram

Translation

Ô Bhārata, autant qu’il y a de poils sur cette vache—avec son veau—autant de milliers d’années il se réjouit longuement au ciel.

Word by Word

• yāvanti: as many as
• yāvanti: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक-विशेषण (quantitative adjective)

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• romāṇi: hairs
• romāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: roman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• savatsāyāḥ: of the cow with a calf
• savatsāyāḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa-vatsa (प्रातिपदिक; स + वत्स)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक

• bhārata: O Bhārata
• bhārata: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• tāvat: so many (that many)
• tāvat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक-विशेषण (correlative: so many/that much)

• varṣa-sahasrāṇi: thousands of years
• varṣa-sahasrāṇi: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (varṣāṇāṃ sahasrāṇi = thousands of years)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• svarge: in heaven
• svarge: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• krīḍate: sports/enjoys
• krīḍate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: krīḍ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• ciram: for a long time
• ciram: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cira (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced); vocative suggests address to a Bhārata-line listener (often a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kalhoḍī-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor offers a cow with her calf at a river-ford; devas witness as the merit transforms into a radiant ascent to svarga where the beneficiary enjoys celestial gardens.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata
• Svarga
• Kapilā with calf (savatsā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa emphasizes immeasurable merit through symbolic measures, encouraging generosity and reverence for dhārmic gifts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The reward statement continues the Kapilātīrtha/kapilā-dāna context in Revākhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied continuation: donate a kapilā cow (ideally with calf), whose merit yields prolonged heavenly enjoyment.