Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 53
तत्र तीर्थे तु यो दद्याद्धेनुं वैतरणीं शुभाम् । स मुच्यते सुखेनैव वैतरण्यां न संशयः
tatra tīrthe tu yo dadyāddhenuṃ vaitaraṇīṃ śubhām | sa mucyate sukhenaiva vaitaraṇyāṃ na saṃśayaḥ
Quiconque, en ce tīrtha, offre en don une ‘vache Vaitaraṇī’ de bon augure est délivré aisément; quant à la Vaitaraṇī, il n’y a nul doute.
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (contextual, continuing instruction in the dialogue)
Tirtha: Narakeśvara Tīrtha
Type: ghat
Listener: null
Scene: At the Narmadā ghāṭ, a donor offers a decorated cow (garlanded, with cloth and bell) to a brāhmaṇa; in a faint overlay, the same cow appears as a guide across a dark river labeled Vaitaraṇī.
FAQs
Charity performed at a tīrtha—especially go-dāna—is upheld as a concrete dharmic act with strong salvific results.
The verse refers to ‘that tīrtha’ in the Revā Khaṇḍa setting, where dāna is said to become exceptionally fruitful.
Donating a cow specifically designated as a ‘Vaitaraṇī (crossing) cow’ (vaitaraṇī-dhenu dāna).