Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

ऋक्पृष्ठासौ यजुःसंध्या सामकुक्षिपयोधरा । इष्टापूर्तविषाणा च साधुसूक्ततनूरुहा

Transliteration

ṛkpṛṣṭhāsau yajuḥsaṃdhyā sāmakukṣipayodharā | iṣṭāpūrtaviṣāṇā ca sādhusūktatanūruhā

Translation

Её спина — Ригведа; её сумеречные сочленения — Яджурведа; её чрево и вымя — Самаведа. Её рога — ишта и пурта (заслуги жертвоприношения и благотворения), а шерсть её тела соткана из хвал, произносимых праведными.

Word by Word

• ऋक्-पृष्ठा: having Ṛk as her back
• ऋक्-पृष्ठा: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऋक् (प्रातिपदिक) + पृष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• असौ: she/that (one)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (demonstrative pronoun)

• यजुः-सन्ध्या: having Yajus as her twilight/junction
• यजुः-सन्ध्या: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यजुस् (प्रातिपदिक) + सन्ध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• साम-कुक्षि-पयोधरा: having Sāman as belly and milk-bearing breasts
• साम-कुक्षि-पयोधरा: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सामन् (प्रातिपदिक) + कुक्षि (प्रातिपदिक) + पयोधर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बहुपद); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• इष्टा-पूर्त-विषाणा: having horns of iṣṭa and pūrta (sacrificial and charitable acts)
• इष्टा-पूर्त-विषाणा: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इष्ट (प्रातिपदिक) + पूर्त (प्रातिपदिक) + विषाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (इष्ट-पूर्त) + तत्पुरुष (…विषाणा); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Discourse (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक

• साधु-सूक्त-तनूरुहा: whose body-hairs are good hymns/true utterances
• साधु-सूक्त-तनूरुहा: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: साधु (प्रातिपदिक) + सूक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + तनूरुह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बहुपद); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Iṣṭa-Pūrta Dharma (conceptual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A diagrammatic-yet-devotional depiction of the cow with labeled correspondences: Ṛg as back, Yajus as joints/twilight, Sāman as belly/udders; horns marked ‘iṣṭa’ and ‘pūrta’; body-hair as mantra/praise shimmering like script.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛgveda
• Yajurveda
• Sāmaveda
• Iṣṭa
• Pūrta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Vedic life is not abstract: sacrifice (iṣṭa) and charity/public welfare (pūrta) are the living ‘limbs’ of dharma, symbolized through the cow.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tirtha is named in this verse; it functions as a doctrinal glorification within Dharmāraṇya’s dharma-teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upholding iṣṭa (yajña/offerings) and pūrta (charitable works) as core religious duties.