Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 112
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । सर्वदेवमयो विष्णुर्गावो विष्णुशरीरजाः । देवास्तदुभयात्तस्मात्कल्पिता विविधा जनैः
śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | sarvadevamayo viṣṇurgāvo viṣṇuśarīrajāḥ | devāstadubhayāttasmātkalpitā vividhā janaiḥ
श्री मार्कंडेय म्हणाले—‘विष्णू सर्वदेवमय आहे आणि गायी विष्णूच्या शरीरातून उत्पन्न झाल्या आहेत. म्हणून या दोन्ही कारणांवरून लोक विविध प्रकारे गौमध्ये देवतांची कल्पना करतात.’
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Go (as Viṣṇu-śarīra-jā)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya explains while a visionary tableau shows Viṣṇu as a cosmic form containing many devas; from Viṣṇu’s body emerges a radiant cow, symbolizing ‘Viṣṇu-śarīra-jā’.
FAQs
Reverence for the cow is grounded in sacred origin: if Viṣṇu embodies all gods and cows arise from him, then honoring cows aligns with honoring the divine totality.
No specific tīrtha; this is doctrinal framing within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s merit-centered narrative.
No explicit rite; it provides the theological justification for Gau-related dharmic practices (service, charity, purity).