Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 51
आदिर्गावो हि मर्त्यस्य मध्ये चांते प्रकीर्तिताः । रक्षंति तास्तु देवानां क्षीराज्यममृतं सदा
ādirgāvo hi martyasya madhye cāṃte prakīrtitāḥ | rakṣaṃti tāstu devānāṃ kṣīrājyamamṛtaṃ sadā
Proclama-se que as vacas estão no início, no meio e no fim da vida do mortal. Elas sustentam continuamente os deuses com leite e ghee—sua essência, como néctar de amṛta.
Narratorial voice (Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame, implied)
Scene: A symbolic tableau: a cow stands as a cosmic pillar across a human life-cycle (childhood, adulthood, old age) while devas above receive streams of milk and ghee as luminous ‘amṛta’ through sacrificial fire.
FAQs
Cows are depicted as foundational to dharma and sacrifice, sustaining both human life and divine worship.
Prabhāsakṣetra, in whose māhātmya the greatness of cows is strongly emphasized.
Implicitly, support of yajña through honoring cows, since milk and ghee are essential offerings.