Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

सर्वा घटस्रवा गावो महिष्यश्च चतुर्गुणाः । प्रयच्छंति तथा क्षीरमुष्ट्र्यस्तासां चतुर्गुणम्

Transliteration

sarvā ghaṭasravā gāvo mahiṣyaśca caturguṇāḥ | prayacchaṃti tathā kṣīramuṣṭryastāsāṃ caturguṇam

Translation

ସମସ୍ତ ଗାଈ ଘଡ଼ାଘଡ଼ା ଦୁଧ ଦିଅନ୍ତି; ମହିଷୀମାନେ ଚାରିଗୁଣ ଦିଅନ୍ତି; ଉଷ୍ଟ୍ରୀମାନେ ତାହାରୁ ମଧ୍ୟ ଚାରିଗୁଣ ଦୁଧ ପ୍ରଦାନ କରନ୍ତି।

Word by Word

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ghaṭa-sravāḥ: abundantly milk-yielding
• ghaṭa-sravāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghaṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + sravā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive/determinative): ‘ghaṭa-sravā’ = ‘(ghaṭa-iva) sravā’ (flowing like a pot/abundant milk-flow)

• gāvaḥ: cows
• gāvaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• mahiṣyaḥ: buffaloes (female)
• mahiṣyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); वैदिक/पुराण-प्रयोगे ‘mahiṣyaḥ’ = ‘mahiṣyaḥ/mahiṣyaḥ’ (buffalo-cows)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• catur-guṇāḥ: fourfold (in quantity)
• catur-guṇāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); द्विगु/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः: ‘fourfold’

• prayacchanti: give, yield
• prayacchanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yam (यम् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• kṣīram: milk
• kṣīram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• uṣṭryaḥ: female camels
• uṣṭryaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uṣṭrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• tāsām: of them
• tāsām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• catur-guṇam: fourfold
• catur-guṇam: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); ‘fourfold (amount)’ (agreeing with kṣīram understood/elliptic)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pastoral scene near a sacred settlement: cows pouring milk into pots, buffaloes with larger vessels, and a camel yielding even more; villagers prepare ghṛta for offerings; a small shrine and smoke of homa in the background.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Material plenty is depicted as a natural accompaniment of dharma—when righteousness prevails, even animals and the earth overflow with nourishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse praises the conditions of the sacred region being described in the Tīrthamāhātmya flow; no named tīrtha appears in this shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a descriptive passage.