Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

यावन्ति रोमाणि भवन्ति धेन्वास्तावन्ति वर्षाणि महीयते सः । स्वर्गाच्च्युतश्चापि ततस्त्रिलोक्यां कुले समुत्पत्स्यति गोमतां सः

Transliteration

yāvanti romāṇi bhavanti dhenvāstāvanti varṣāṇi mahīyate saḥ | svargāccyutaścāpi tatastrilokyāṃ kule samutpatsyati gomatāṃ saḥ

Translation

Autant il y a de poils sur la vache, autant d’années il est honoré au ciel. Et même après être déchu du ciel, dans les trois mondes il renaîtra dans une lignée abondante en bétail.

Word by Word

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

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

• bhavanti: are / exist
• bhavanti: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• dhenvāḥ: of the cow(s) (cows)
• dhenvāḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Context/Reference)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhenū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• tāvanti: so many
• tāvanti: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक-विशेषण

• varṣāṇi: years
• varṣāṇi: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• mahīyate: is honored / is glorified
• mahīyate: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (is honored)

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

• svargāt: from heaven
• svargāt: Apādāna (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• cyutaḥ: fallen / descended
• cyutaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cyutá (कृदन्त; √cyu धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/अपि-प्रयोग (particle: also/even)

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla/Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Temporal/Spatial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय/तद्-प्रभव)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/ततः (thereafter/from there)

• tri-lokyām: in the three worlds
• tri-lokyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + lokī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (त्रयाणां लोकानां समाहारः)

• kule: in a family
• kule: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• samutpatsyati: will be born / will arise
• samutpatsyati: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ut-√pad (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• gomatām: of the cow-possessing (people)
• gomatām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + mat (प्रत्यय; मतुप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; मतुप्-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (possessive: having cows)

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

Speaker

Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājendra (a king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor reverently offers a cow (or cow-related charity) at a riverbank tīrtha; above, a celestial scene shows the donor honored in svarga; below, a prosperous pastoral lineage with abundant cattle symbolizes rebirth-fruit.

Characters & Entities

• svarga
• triloka
• dhenu (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Meritorious charity yields both transcendent reward (svarga) and auspicious worldly outcomes upon return (noble, prosperous rebirth).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching remains within the Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha-mahātmya frame, where the tīrtha amplifies the fruit of dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It continues the stated results of go-dāna/kapilā-dāna performed according to rite.