Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

गोवृषं च महीं धान्यं तत्र दत्त्वाक्षयं फलम् । शुभस्याप्यशुभस्यापि तत्र तीर्थे न संशयः

Transliteration

govṛṣaṃ ca mahīṃ dhānyaṃ tatra dattvākṣayaṃ phalam | śubhasyāpyaśubhasyāpi tatra tīrthe na saṃśayaḥ

Translation

À ce gué sacré, offrir une vache, un taureau, de la terre ou du grain donne un fruit impérissable. Pour l’homme aux actes heureux comme pour celui aux actes funestes, ce tīrtha agit—sans aucun doute.

Word by Word

• go-vṛṣam: a bull (of a cowherd/for cows)
• go-vṛṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

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

• mahīm: land/earth
• mahīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• dhānyam: grain
• dhānyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhānya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• dattvā: having given
• dattvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु; दा दाने)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• akṣayam: imperishable
• akṣayam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘phalam’)

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• śubhasya: of the auspicious (act/result)
• śubhasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• aśubhasya: of the inauspicious (act/result)
• aśubhasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• tīrthe: at the sacred ford
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• na: not/no
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation particle)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (to Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā–Sāgara-saṅgama

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the confluence bank, a donor leads a cow and bull, measures out grain, and symbolically offers land (bhūmi-dāna) to a priest; the tīrtha radiates a purifying aura around all present.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Loṭaṇeśvara (implied tīrtha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity performed at a sanctified tīrtha becomes inexhaustible merit, and sacred geography can uplift even those burdened by past faults.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha in the Loṭaṇeśvara context of Revā Khaṇḍa, Āvantya Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna—donating a cow, bull, land, and grain at the tīrtha for akṣaya (imperishable) spiritual fruit.