Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

गोमयं यमुना साक्षाद्गोमूत्रं नर्मदा शुभा । गंगा क्षीरं तु यासां वै किं पवित्रमतः परम्

Transliteration

gomayaṃ yamunā sākṣādgomūtraṃ narmadā śubhā | gaṃgā kṣīraṃ tu yāsāṃ vai kiṃ pavitramataḥ param

Translation

La bouse de vache est véritablement la Yamunā ; l’urine de vache est la Narmadā de bon augure ; et le lait de ces vaches est la Gaṅgā elle-même. Quel purificateur serait plus élevé que cela ?

Word by Word

• gomayam: cow-dung
• gomayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: 'cow-dung'; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• yamunā: Yamunā
• yamunā: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yamunā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• sākṣāt: directly / verily
• sākṣāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sākṣāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — 'directly, manifestly'

• gomūtram: cow-urine
• gomūtram: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + mūtra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: 'cow-urine'; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• narmadā: Narmadā
• narmadā: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: narmadā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• śubhā: auspicious
• śubhā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular) — agreeing with नर्मदा

• gaṅgā: Gaṅgā
• gaṅgā: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• kṣīram: milk
• kṣīram: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• tu: and / but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वयबोधक अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• yāsām: of whom (of which)
• yāsām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/सम्भावनार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• kim: what?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); प्रश्नवाचक

• pavitram: pure / purifying
• pavitram: Viśeṣya (Predicate/Complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pavitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

• ataḥ: than this / from this
• ataḥ: Apādāna (Ablative sense/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — 'from this/than this, therefore'

• param: higher / greater
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā / Yamunā / Narmadā (as equivalences)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: cow-dung transforming into Yamunā’s dark-blue stream, cow-urine into Narmadā’s shimmering current, and milk into Gaṅgā’s luminous white flow—three rivers emanating from a serene cow.

Characters & Entities

• Yamunā
• Narmadā
• Gaṅgā
• Gomaya (cow-dung)
• Gomūtra (cow-urine)
• Kṣīra (milk)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The cow is portrayed as a living source of purification equivalent to India’s greatest sacred rivers, reinforcing go-sevā as a high dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and Narmadā are invoked as tīrtha-benchmarks, within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s broader sacred-geography worldview.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is commanded; the verse supports traditional purificatory valuation of cow-derived substances in dharmic contexts.