Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 56
यावद्वत्सस्य पादौ द्वौ मुखं योन्यां प्रदृश्यते । तावद्गौः पृथिवी ज्ञेया यावद्गर्भं न मुञ्चति
yāvadvatsasya pādau dvau mukhaṃ yonyāṃ pradṛśyate | tāvadgauḥ pṛthivī jñeyā yāvadgarbhaṃ na muñcati
Tant que les deux pieds et le visage du veau apparaissent dans le sein, qu’on sache que la vache est la Terre elle-même, jusqu’à ce qu’elle délivre le fœtus.
Narrator addressing the King (context from surrounding verses)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-zone
Type: kshetra
Listener: Nara-adhipa (king) / tīrtha-śravaṇa audience
Scene: A serene cowshed near a riverbank: a pregnant, gentle cow stands with a faintly ‘revealed’ calf-form suggested within; sages indicate that she embodies the Earth. The river Revā flows behind with tīrtha markers and lamps.
FAQs
The cow is equated with Earth, highlighting her life-sustaining sanctity and why her gift is considered supremely meritorious.
The Revā/Narmadā māhātmya context frames the teaching, though the verse itself is symbolic rather than topographical.
No direct rite; it provides a theological identification (cow = Earth) to elevate the significance of go-dāna.