Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

अहं शतसहस्रं ते यच्छाम्यस्याः कृते द्विज । धेनूनामपरं वित्तं यावन्मात्रं प्रवांछसि

Transliteration

ahaṃ śatasahasraṃ te yacchāmyasyāḥ kṛte dvija | dhenūnāmaparaṃ vittaṃ yāvanmātraṃ pravāṃchasi

Translation

Ô deux-fois-né, je te donnerai cent mille en échange d’elle ; et encore d’autres richesses sous forme de vaches, autant que tu le souhaites.

Word by Word

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुषवाचक-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• शतसहस्रम्: a hundred thousand
• शतसहस्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक; समाहार/समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (समाहारार्थ)

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• यच्छामि: I give
• यच्छामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: यम्/यच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• अस्याः: of this (cow)
• अस्याः: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• कृते: for the sake of
• कृते: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग (postposition-like): ‘कृते’ = हेतु/निमित्ते (for the sake of); सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत्

• द्विज: O brahmin
• द्विज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• धेनूनाम्: of cows
• धेनूनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धेनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• अपरम्: other, additional
• अपरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• वित्तम्: wealth
• वित्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वित्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• यावत्: as much as
• यावत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यावत् (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययप्राय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक

• मात्रम्: amount, measure
• मात्रम्: Karma (Measure-object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; परिमाणार्थ

• प्रवाञ्छसि: you desire
• प्रवाञ्छसि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वाञ्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Rājā (the king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Jamadagni

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king offers heaps of coins and a line of cows as ‘exchange’; Jamadagni remains unmoved, the homadhenu standing serene, suggesting sacred value beyond price.

Characters & Entities

• Jamadagni
• gauḥ (cow)
• homadhenu (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Material wealth is offered as inducement, but dharma tests whether sacred beings (like a revered cow) can be treated as commodities.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative frame; the excerpt itself focuses on dharma around the homadhenu rather than naming a particular tīrtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; the emphasis is on dāna/wealth-offer as a temptation and the dharmic limits of such transactions.