Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 89
पिबन्पितॄन् प्रीणयते खादनोल्लेखने सुरान् । गर्जन्नृषिमनुष्यांश्च धर्मरूपो हि धर्मज
pibanpitṝn prīṇayate khādanollekhane surān | garjannṛṣimanuṣyāṃśca dharmarūpo hi dharmaja
En buvant, il réjouit les ancêtres; en mangeant et en raclant (la terre), il réjouit les dieux; en mugissant, il réjouit aussi les Ṛṣis et les hommes—car il est vraiment le Dharma incarné, ô fils du Dharma.
Unspecified in snippet (addressed to ‘Dharmaja’, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira-like epithet; exact interlocutors not given in input)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Dharmarāja’s son (Dharmaja) addressed in vocative; likely Yudhiṣṭhira in a broader frame, though not explicit in excerpt
Scene: A symbolic tableau: the dharmic bull/cow at a riverbank—drinking, grazing, scraping earth, bellowing—while subtle divine presences (Pitṛs, Devas, Ṛṣis, humans) receive satisfaction in their respective realms.
FAQs
It elevates the cow as a symbol of dharma whose very presence/actions are framed as benefiting ancestors, gods, sages, and society.
Revā-kṣetra is the textual milieu, but the verse primarily glorifies dharma through gau-māhātmya rather than a particular pilgrimage spot.
No direct prescription; it assigns spiritual ‘satisfaction’ effects to actions like drinking, eating, and bellowing.