Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

सहस्रकमलानां च स्मेराणां स्वयमेव हि । नवप्रसूतां कपिलां सुशीलां च पयस्विनीम्

Transliteration

sahasrakamalānāṃ ca smerāṇāṃ svayameva hi | navaprasūtāṃ kapilāṃ suśīlāṃ ca payasvinīm

Translation

Ia hendaknya dengan kehendaknya sendiri mempersembahkan seekor sapi kapilā (kecokelatan) yang baru beranak—lemah lembut, berbudi baik, kaya susu—bersama seribu teratai yang segar dan menyejukkan hati.

Word by Word

• सहस्रकमलानाम्: of a thousand lotuses
• सहस्रकमलानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र + कमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सहस्रस्य कमलानि)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• स्मेराणाम्: of smiling/pleasant (ones)
• स्मेराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मेर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• स्वयम्: by oneself
• स्वयम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्वयमेव = emphatic adverbial usage

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• हि: for/indeed
• हि: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ/निश्चये निपातः (particle: for/indeed)

• नवप्रसूताम्: newly calved
• नवप्रसूताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव + प्रसूत (प्रातिपदिक; √सू (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘प्रसूत’; कर्मधारयः (नवा प्रसूता)

• कपिलाम्: a tawny cow
• कपिलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• सुशीलाम्: well-behaved
• सुशीलाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + शील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (सुशील = good-natured)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पयस्विनीम्: milk-giving, full of milk
• पयस्विनीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पयस्विनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devout couple in Kāśī prepares a kapilā cow newly calved, garlanded, with a tray of a thousand fresh lotuses; the Ganga and temple spires form the sacred backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• ācārya (implied in the ritual context)
• kapilā (cow)
• kamala (lotus)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Voluntary generosity—especially pure gifts like a milk-yielding cow and sacred lotuses—is upheld as a direct means to gain auspicious merit in Kāśī.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is the Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī) māhātmya, where dharmic gifts and vows are said to yield amplified spiritual fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna: offering a newly calved, gentle, milk-rich kapilā cow along with a thousand lotuses.