Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

गवां स्तुत्वा नमस्कृत्य कृत्वा चैव प्र दक्षिणाम् । प्रदक्षिणीकृतातेन सप्तद्वीपा वसुंधरा

Transliteration

gavāṃ stutvā namaskṛtya kṛtvā caiva pra dakṣiṇām | pradakṣiṇīkṛtātena saptadvīpā vasuṃdharā

Translation

Après avoir loué les vaches, s’être incliné devant elles et accompli la pradakṣiṇā, on a, par là même, fait le tour de la terre aux sept continents.

Word by Word

• gavām: of cows
• gavām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• stutvā: having praised
• stutvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: stu (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal), धातु: स्तु (to praise)

• namaskṛtya: having saluted
• namaskṛtya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), धातु: कृ (to do) with उपपद 'नमस्' (to salute)

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), धातु: कृ (to do)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• pradakṣiṇām: circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• pradakṣiṇīkṛta: having been circumambulated / made a circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇīkṛta: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + dakṣiṇī + kṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (Past passive participle), क्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (contextual), प्रथमा/समासान्त; अर्थ: 'made into a pradakṣiṇā / circumambulated'

• tena: by that / by him
• tena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Masculine/Neuter), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• saptadvīpā: having seven continents
• saptadvīpā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (numerical compound); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular) — agreeing with वसुंधरा

• vasuṃdharā: the earth
• vasuṃdharā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasuṃdharā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda

Characters & Entities

• Gauḥ (cow)
• Pradakṣiṇā
• Sapta-dvīpa (seven continents)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Simple acts of devotion toward cows are magnified into cosmic merit, equated with a universal pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse reflects Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s theme that sacred acts performed in a holy framework yield vast results; no single tīrtha is named.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Stuti (praise), namaskāra (salutation), and pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation) of cows.