Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 57
येन केनाप्युपायेन ब्राह्मणे तां समर्पयेत् । पृथ्वी दत्ता भवेत्तेन सशैलवनकानना
yena kenāpyupāyena brāhmaṇe tāṃ samarpayet | pṛthvī dattā bhavettena saśailavanakānanā
Dengan apa jua cara yang termampu, hendaklah ia menyerahkan lembu itu kepada seorang brāhmaṇa. Dengan perbuatan itu, seolah-olah Bumi sendiri telah didermakan—beserta gunung-ganang, rimba dan belukar.
Narrator addressing the King (contextual)
Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (narādhipa)
Scene: A donor leads a decorated cow to a learned brāhmaṇa near a river-ghat. The landscape subtly expands into a symbolic panorama—mountains, forests, and groves—suggesting the Earth being offered through the cow.
FAQs
Because the cow embodies Earth’s sustaining power, gifting her is praised as an offering of the whole world.
The Revā/Narmadā region’s dharma-teaching milieu; the verse emphasizes universal merit rather than a single shrine.
Perform go-dāna by formally offering the cow to a brāhmaṇa.