Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

यदीच्छेदूर्ध्वगमनमात्मनः पितृभिः सह । सर्वाङ्गरुचिरां धेनुं यो दद्यादग्रजन्मने

Transliteration

yadīcchedūrdhvagamanamātmanaḥ pitṛbhiḥ saha | sarvāṅgarucirāṃ dhenuṃ yo dadyādagrajanmane

Translation

もし自らが祖先とともに上界への昇進を願うなら、肢体のすべてが麗しい牝牛を、最勝のブラーフマナに布施すべきである。

Word by Word

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्ययम् (conditional particle)

• इच्छेत्: should desire
• इच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• ऊर्ध्वगमनम्: ascent/going upward
• ऊर्ध्वगमनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऊर्ध्व-गमन (प्रातिपदिक; ऊर्ध्व=उपरि + गमन=गमन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; इच्छायाः कर्म (object of desire)

• आत्मनः: of oneself
• आत्मनः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम्; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• पितृभिः: with the ancestors/fathers
• पितृभिः: Sahakaraka (Association/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्; सह-योगे करणम्

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahakaraka (Association/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: सहार्थक-अव्ययम् (preposition/adverb: with)

• सर्वाङ्गरुचिराम्: beautiful in all limbs
• सर्वाङ्गरुचिराम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व-अङ्ग-रुचिर (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + अङ्ग + रुचिर)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (agreeing with धेनुम्)

• धेनुम्: a cow
• धेनुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धेनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्

• दद्यात्: should give
• दद्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• अग्रजन्मने: to the first-born/elder-born (i.e., a Brahmin)
• अग्रजन्मने: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्र-जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; अग्र=पूर्व/श्रेष्ठ + जन्मन्=जन्म)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे चतुर्थी (सम्प्रदान) एकवचनम्

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (didactic instruction within Māhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee offers a radiant, well-formed cow to a venerable brāhmaṇa; behind them, subtle ancestral figures appear as blessings rise upward, suggesting ascent to higher lokas.

Characters & Entities

• pitṛ (ancestors)
• dhenu (cow)
• brāhmaṇa (agrajanman)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity (dāna), especially cow-gifting to a worthy recipient, is taught as a powerful means for one’s uplift and ancestral welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is embedded in the Maṇināgeśvara Māhātmya of the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gift a well-formed milch cow to a foremost brāhmaṇa for the sake of one’s own and one’s ancestors’ spiritual ascent.