Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 16
नालंकृता सवत्सा गौः पात्राय प्रतिपादिता । इह पापापहंत्र्याशु सप्तजन्मसुखावहा
nālaṃkṛtā savatsā gauḥ pātrāya pratipāditā | iha pāpāpahaṃtryāśu saptajanmasukhāvahā
मी अलंकृत, वासरासह गाय योग्य पात्राला अर्पण केली नाही—हे दान इहलोकी शीघ्र पाप नष्ट करून सात जन्मांचे सुख देते।
Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa default dialogue frame)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: An adorned cow with a calf—garlanded, horn-caps, cloth on back—stands beside a brāhmaṇa recipient; the donor, regretful, is shown empty-handed, with Kāśī ghāṭs behind and a soft aura around the cow symbolizing purity.
FAQs
Go-dāna to a qualified recipient is elevated as a high-merit charity with swift purificatory power and long-term karmic benefit.
The broader context is Kāśī in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, while the verse emphasizes dāna’s merit rather than a specific tirtha.
Go-dāna—presenting an adorned cow together with her calf to a pātra (worthy recipient).