Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

गवां स्तुत्वा नमस्कृत्य कृत्वा चैव प्र दक्षिणाम् । प्रदक्षिणीकृतातेन सप्तद्वीपा वसुंधरा

Transliteration

gavāṃ stutvā namaskṛtya kṛtvā caiva pra dakṣiṇām | pradakṣiṇīkṛtātena saptadvīpā vasuṃdharā

Translation

牛を讃え、礼拝し、右繞（プラダクシナー）を行えば、それによって七大洲を具えた大地全体を巡ったことになる。

Word by Word

• gavām: of cows
• gavām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• stutvā: having praised
• stutvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: stu (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal), धातु: स्तु (to praise)

• namaskṛtya: having saluted
• namaskṛtya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), धातु: कृ (to do) with उपपद 'नमस्' (to salute)

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), धातु: कृ (to do)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• pradakṣiṇām: circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• pradakṣiṇīkṛta: having been circumambulated / made a circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇīkṛta: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + dakṣiṇī + kṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (Past passive participle), क्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (contextual), प्रथमा/समासान्त; अर्थ: 'made into a pradakṣiṇā / circumambulated'

• tena: by that / by him
• tena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Masculine/Neuter), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• saptadvīpā: having seven continents
• saptadvīpā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (numerical compound); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular) — agreeing with वसुंधरा

• vasuṃdharā: the earth
• vasuṃdharā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasuṃdharā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee circles a cow slowly; around them, a mandala-like vision of the seven continents appears as concentric rings, suggesting the earth itself being circumambulated through this act.

Characters & Entities

• Gauḥ (cow)
• Pradakṣiṇā
• Sapta-dvīpa (seven continents)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Simple acts of devotion toward cows are magnified into cosmic merit, equated with a universal pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse reflects Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s theme that sacred acts performed in a holy framework yield vast results; no single tīrtha is named.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Stuti (praise), namaskāra (salutation), and pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation) of cows.