Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 112
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । सर्वदेवमयो विष्णुर्गावो विष्णुशरीरजाः । देवास्तदुभयात्तस्मात्कल्पिता विविधा जनैः
śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | sarvadevamayo viṣṇurgāvo viṣṇuśarīrajāḥ | devāstadubhayāttasmātkalpitā vividhā janaiḥ
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya dit : «Viṣṇu est fait de tous les dieux, et les vaches sont nées du corps même de Viṣṇu. Ainsi, de ces deux vérités, les hommes conçoivent de multiples façons la présence des dieux dans la vache.»
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Go (as Viṣṇu-śarīra-jā)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya explains while a visionary tableau shows Viṣṇu as a cosmic form containing many devas; from Viṣṇu’s body emerges a radiant cow, symbolizing ‘Viṣṇu-śarīra-jā’.
FAQs
Reverence for the cow is grounded in sacred origin: if Viṣṇu embodies all gods and cows arise from him, then honoring cows aligns with honoring the divine totality.
No specific tīrtha; this is doctrinal framing within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s merit-centered narrative.
No explicit rite; it provides the theological justification for Gau-related dharmic practices (service, charity, purity).