Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 94

Devanagari script

यत्र क्षीरवहा नद्यो यत्र पायस कर्दमाः । न जरा बाधते यत्र तत्र गच्छंति गोप्रदाः

Transliteration

yatra kṣīravahā nadyo yatra pāyasa kardamāḥ | na jarā bādhate yatra tatra gacchaṃti gopradāḥ

Translation

Là où les rivières coulent comme du lait, là où la boue est de riz au lait, et là où la vieillesse n’accable point—là se rendent les donateurs de vaches.

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय/सम्बन्धबोधक (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• क्षीरवहाः: carrying milk
• क्षीरवहाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षीर + वह (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन — Nominative plural; क्षीरं वहन्ति इति (milk-carrying); विशेषण (qualifying नद्यः)

• नद्यः: rivers
• नद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/1st case), बहुवचन — Nominative plural

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• पायस: rice-milk / sweet milk-food
• पायस: Sambandha (Attribute/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पायस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन — Nominative singular; समासपूर्वपदवत् (used attributively)

• कर्दमाः: muds/slurries
• कर्दमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्दम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/1st case), बहुवचन — Nominative plural

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• जरा: old age
• जरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/1st case), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• बाधते: afflicts/harms
• बाधते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बाध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Present, 3rd sg

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (correlative adverb: ‘there’)

• गच्छन्ति: go
• गच्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — Present, 3rd pl

• गोप्रदाः: givers of cows
• गोप्रदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो + प्रद (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/1st case), बहुवचन — Nominative plural; गवां प्रदाः (givers of cows)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A surreal heaven-scape: broad rivers of milk flowing through jeweled banks; fields where the ground is soft ‘pāyasa’ (sweet rice) like fragrant golden mud; radiant beings without wrinkles; go-dātās arriving on a path of light, carrying water-pot and offering gesture, welcomed by attendants.

Characters & Entities

• Gopradāḥ (cow-donors)
• Milk rivers (Kṣīravahā nadyaḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gau-dāna is praised as producing extraordinary merit, leading to a blissful realm free from decay.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse describes a heavenly destination rather than an earthly tirtha; it appears within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s merit-literature.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Go-pradāna (donation of a cow) is the key act whose fruit is described.