Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

न वाहयेद्गृहे जातं वत्सकं तु कदाचन । तेनैव च वृषोत्सर्गे पितॄणामनृणो भवेत्

Transliteration

na vāhayedgṛhe jātaṃ vatsakaṃ tu kadācana | tenaiva ca vṛṣotsarge pitṝṇāmanṛṇo bhavet

Translation

സ്വഗൃഹത്തിൽ ജനിച്ച കിടാവിനെ ഒരിക്കലും ഭാരവാഹിയായി ജോലിക്കിടരുത്. അതേ കിടാവിനാൽ വൃഷോത്സർഗ്ഗ കർമത്തിൽ പിതൃഋണത്തിൽ നിന്ന് വിമുക്തനാകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation)

• वाहयेत्: should make (it) carry / should yoke/drive
• वाहयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्; causative sense in usage ‘make carry/drive’

• गृहे: in (one’s) house
• गृहे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्

• जातम्: born
• जातम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; कर्म-विशेषणम्

• वत्सकम्: calf
• वत्सकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्सक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrast/emphasis)

• कदाचन: ever/at any time
• कदाचन: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचन (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• तेन: by that/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• वृषोत्सर्गे: in the rite of releasing a bull
• वृषोत्सर्गे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृष + उत्सर्ग (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुष-समासः (वृषस्य उत्सर्गः = releasing a bull)

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive), बहुवचनम्

• अनृणः: free from debt/obligation
• अनृणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनृण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (Revā-khaṇḍa narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu (general)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A householder gently tending a home-born calf, refusing to yoke it; later, a ceremonial vṛṣotsarga scene: a decorated bull is ritually released with mantras, elders performing tarpaṇa nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Vatsaka (calf)
• Vṛṣotsarga
• Pitṛ-ṛṇa (ancestral debt)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes compassion and restraint toward cattle, and sacred gifting can fulfill ancestral obligations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā-khaṇḍa tīrtha framework where vṛṣotsarga is praised (the verse itself does not name the ford).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not use a home-born calf for labor; employ it (when mature, per context) in vṛṣotsarga to become free from pitṛ-debt.