Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 114

Devanagari script

कांस्यदोहनिका देया स्वर्णशृङ्गी सुभूषिता । हनूमन्तेश्वरस्याग्रे भक्त्या विप्राय दापयेत्

Transliteration

kāṃsyadohanikā deyā svarṇaśṛṅgī subhūṣitā | hanūmanteśvarasyāgre bhaktyā viprāya dāpayet

Translation

കാംസ്യ ദോഹനിക (പാൽ കറക്കുന്ന പാത്രം) നൽകണം; പശുവിനെ സ്വർണ്ണശൃംഗങ്ങളാലും ഉത്തമാഭരണങ്ങളാലും സുവിഭൂഷിതയാക്കണം. ഹനൂമന്തേശ്വരന്റെ സന്നിധിയിൽ ഭക്തിയോടെ അത് ബ്രാഹ്മണന് ദാനം ചെയ്യിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• kāṃsya-dohanikā: a bronze milking-vessel/pail
• kāṃsya-dohanikā: Karma (Object; thing to be given)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṃsya (प्रातिपदिक) + dohanikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• deyā: should be given
• deyā: Vidhi (Injunction predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dā (धातु) → deya (कृदन्त; विधेय/gerundive)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विधिलिङ्गार्थ-कर्तव्यता (gerundive: “to be given”)

• svarṇa-śṛṅgī: having golden horns
• svarṇa-śṛṅgī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svarṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + śṛṅgin/śṛṅgī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• su-bhūṣitā: well-adorned
• su-bhūṣitā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग) + bhūṣita (कृदन्त; √bhūṣ (धातु) past participle)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); भूतकृदन्त (PPP)

• hanūmat-īśvarasya: of Hanūmanteśvara
• hanūmat-īśvarasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hanūmat (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• agre: in front (of)
• agre: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग/सप्तमी-एकवचन-निपातवत् (locative used adverbially: “in front of”)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• viprāya: to a brāhmaṇa
• viprāya: Sampradāna (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular)

• dāpayet: should have (it) given / should offer
• dāpayet: Kriyā (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु) (causative: dāpaya-)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), णिच्-प्रयोग (causative: “cause to give/offer”)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (continuing instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hanūmanteśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In the temple’s front mandapa, the cow is ornamented with golden horn-caps and garlands; a bronze milking pot is placed beside; the donor gestures to a brāhmaṇa as priests witness the transfer.

Characters & Entities

• Hanūmanteśvara
• Brāhmaṇa (Vipra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion expressed through righteous giving—performed at a sacred shrine and directed to worthy recipients—is upheld as a powerful purifier and merit-maker.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hanūmanteśvara is explicitly named as the shrine before which the donation should be performed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gau-dāna in front of Hanūmanteśvara: provide a bronze milking-vessel, adorn the cow with golden horns and ornaments, and donate it devotionally to a brāhmaṇa.