Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 100

Devanagari script

स्वर्णशृङ्गी रूप्यशिफारुक्मलाङ्गूलसंयुता । रत्नपृष्ठी तु दातव्या कांस्यपात्रावदोहिनी

Transliteration

svarṇaśṛṅgī rūpyaśiphārukmalāṅgūlasaṃyutā | ratnapṛṣṭhī tu dātavyā kāṃsyapātrāvadohinī

Translation

Qu’on donne une vache dont les cornes sont parées d’or, les sabots d’argent et la queue ornée d’or ; dont le dos est serti de joyaux, et qui verse son lait dans un vase de bronze.

Word by Word

• svarṇa-śṛṅgī: having golden horns
• svarṇa-śṛṅgī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svarṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + śṛṅgin/śṛṅgī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; विशेषण

• rūpya-śiphā-rukma-lāṅgūla-saṃyutā: endowed with a silver hip and a golden tail
• rūpya-śiphā-rukma-lāṅgūla-saṃyutā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rūpya (प्रातिपदिक) + śiphā (प्रातिपदिक) + rukma (प्रातिपदिक) + lāṅgūla (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyuta (कृदन्त; सम्+युज् धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; विशेषण (धेनोः)

• ratna-pṛṣṭhī: having a jewel(-like) back
• ratna-pṛṣṭhī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ratna (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭhin/pṛṣṭhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; विशेषण

• tu: indeed/and
• tu: Sambandha/Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निपात; विशेषार्थ/विरोध/अनुशासन (indeed/but)

• dātavyā: should be given
• dātavyā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धा॒तु) + tavya (कृदन्त; विधेय/कर्तव्य)
• Form: कृदन्त (तव्यत्-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Gerundive/passive necessity: ‘is to be given’

• kāṃsya-pātra-avadohinī: a milch-cow with a bronze vessel (for milking)
• kāṃsya-pātra-avadohinī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṃsya (प्रातिपदिक) + pātra (प्रातिपदिक) + avadohinī (प्रातिपदिक; ‘milch-cow’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; कर्ता/विधेय-सम्बन्ध (दातव्या)

Speaker

Textual narrator describing an idealized gau-dāna specification (contextual deduction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A decorated milch cow stands on the riverbank: horns capped with gold, hooves gleaming silver, tail adorned, a jeweled cloth on her back; a bronze vessel is placed for milking as the donor offers her with water-libation and mantra.

Characters & Entities

• Gau (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When performed with reverence and completeness, gau-dāna becomes a high form of dharmic offering, reflecting honor toward sacred life and sustenance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a dāna-vidhi description within the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Give a cow with prescribed adornments (golden horns, silver hooves, jeweled decoration) and provide for milking into a bronze vessel.