Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

सर्वदुःखविनाशे च विष्णुलोके महीयते । काश्यपीं स्पर्शयेद्यो गां मानवो भुवि राघव

Transliteration

sarvaduḥkhavināśe ca viṣṇuloke mahīyate | kāśyapīṃ sparśayedyo gāṃ mānavo bhuvi rāghava

Translation

Ô Rāghava, celui qui touche sur la terre la vache nommée Kāśyapī détruit toute peine et est honoré dans le monde de Viṣṇu.

Word by Word

• सर्वदुःखविनाशे: in the destruction of all sorrows
• सर्वदुःखविनाशे: Adhikarana (Condition/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व-दुःख-विनाश (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्रायः तत्पुरुष (सर्वेषां दुःखानां विनाशः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• विष्णुलोके: in Viṣṇu’s world
• विष्णुलोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु-लोक (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (विष्णोः लोकः)

• महीयते: is honored, becomes great
• महीयते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (passive/intransitive sense)

• काश्यपीम्: Kāśyapī (name of a cow/earth/river; here a feminine entity)
• काश्यपीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काश्यपी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• स्पर्शयेत्: should touch
• स्पर्शयेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्पृश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative: ‘cause to touch’/‘touch’)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• गाम्: a cow
• गाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• मानवः: a man
• मानवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• भुवि: on earth
• भुवि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक; स्त्री. ‘भू’=पृथ्वी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• राघव: O Rāghava
• राघव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राघव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unknown (Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa narrative voice; speaker not explicit in excerpt)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśyapī (sacred cow)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rāghava

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee gently touches the revered cow Kāśyapī with folded hands; the cow is depicted as radiant, with subtle Viṣṇu symbolism (conch/discus motifs in aura), while the devotee’s sorrow lifts.

Characters & Entities

• Rāghava
• Viṣṇuloka
• Kāśyapī (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverence to sacred beings—especially the cow—becomes a direct means to remove suffering and gain higher spiritual honor.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse highlights a sacred presence (the cow Kāśyapī) within the Dharmāraṇya tīrtha context rather than naming a city.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sparśa (touching with reverence) of the sacred cow Kāśyapī is given as the act yielding the stated fruit.