Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणं धर्मराजं च धेनुं वैतरणीं शिवाम् । सर्वं प्रदक्षिणीकृत्य ब्राह्मणाय निवेदयेत्

Transliteration

brāhmaṇaṃ dharmarājaṃ ca dhenuṃ vaitaraṇīṃ śivām | sarvaṃ pradakṣiṇīkṛtya brāhmaṇāya nivedayet

Translation

Après avoir fait la circumambulation révérencieuse du Brāhmaṇa, de Dharmarāja et de l’auspicieuse vache Vaitaraṇī, on doit ensuite offrir solennellement le tout au Brāhmaṇa.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणम्: a brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• धर्मराजम्: Dharmarāja (Yama)
• धर्मराजम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; धर्मस्य राजा इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (epithet: Yama)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय

• धेनुम्: a cow
• धेनुम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धेनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• वैतरणीम्: (named) Vaitaraṇī
• वैतरणीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैतरणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; धेनुं विशेषयति (as name/epithet)

• शिवाम्: auspicious
• शिवाम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (auspicious)

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; समस्त-वस्तु-समाहारः (everything)

• प्रदक्षिणीकृत्य: having circumambulated
• प्रदक्षिणीकृत्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√दक्षिणी- कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘प्रदक्षिणं कृत्वा’ इत्यर्थः

• ब्राह्मणाय: to the brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणाय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी, एकवचन; सम्प्रदान

• निवेदयेत्: should offer/present
• निवेदयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-√विद्/√वेद् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; causative sense in usage: ‘offer/present’

Speaker

Narratorial/ritual-instruction voice (speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaitaraṇī-dhenu (Vaitaraṇī cow-gift)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A clockwise circumambulation: donor walks with folded hands around the brāhmaṇa and the decorated cow; a symbolic presence of Dharmarāja (Yama) is shown as a subtle guardian figure witnessing the rite.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Dharmarāja (Yama)
• Vaitaraṇī-dhenu (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual charity is to be done with humility and reverence—honoring dharma (Dharmarāja) and the sacred cow—before completing the gift.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā (Narmadā) sacred landscape frames the teaching; this verse chiefly glorifies the rite of Vaitaraṇī-dhenu dāna rather than a single shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform pradakṣiṇā around the Brāhmaṇa, Dharmarāja, and the Vaitaraṇī cow, then present the offering to the Brāhmaṇa.