Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26
यथा धेनुसहस्रेषु वत्सो विन्दति मातरम् । तथा पूर्वकृतं कर्म कर्तारमुपगच्छति
yathā dhenusahasreṣu vatso vindati mātaram | tathā pūrvakṛtaṃ karma kartāramupagacchati
De même que, parmi des milliers de vaches, le veau reconnaît sa propre mère, ainsi l’acte accompli jadis rejoint infailliblement son auteur.
Māṇḍavya Ṛṣi
Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Rishis (collective)
Scene: Split-vision metaphor: foreground Māṇḍavya teaching; background vignette of a calf weaving through a herd to its mother, illustrating karma’s sure return.
FAQs
Karma is unfailing: it finds the doer without error, just as a calf recognizes its mother.
The broader setting is the Revā (Narmadā) sacred landscape, though this verse itself is an ethical illustration.
None; it conveys a moral certainty about karmic results.