Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

सुवर्णशृङ्गीं कपिलां पयस्विनीं साध्वीं सुशीलां तरुणीं सवत्साम् । दत्त्वा द्विजे सर्वव्रतोपपन्ने फलं च यत्स्यात्तदिहैव नूनम्

Transliteration

suvarṇaśṛṅgīṃ kapilāṃ payasvinīṃ sādhvīṃ suśīlāṃ taruṇīṃ savatsām | dattvā dvije sarvavratopapanne phalaṃ ca yatsyāttadihaiva nūnam

Translation

సువర్ణశృంగములు గల కపిల గోవును, పాలు సమృద్ధిగా ఉన్నదానిని, శాంతమైనదానిని, సుశీలమైనదానిని, యౌవనవతిని, దూడతో కూడినదానిని—సర్వవ్రతసంపన్న బ్రాహ్మణునికి దానమిచ్చిన ఫలము ఏదో, అది నిశ్చయంగా ఇక్కడే లభించును।

Word by Word

• suvarṇa-śṛṅgīm: having golden horns
• suvarṇa-śṛṅgīm: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: suvarṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + śṛṅgin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (2nd case/accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• kapilām: a tawny cow
• kapilām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (2nd case/accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• payasvinīm: milk-giving, full of milk
• payasvinīm: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: payasvinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (2nd case/accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• sādhvīm: virtuous
• sādhvīm: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sādhvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (2nd case/accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• su-śīlām: good-natured
• su-śīlām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + śīla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (2nd case/accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• taruṇīm: young
• taruṇīm: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: taruṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (2nd case/accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• sa-vatsām: with a calf
• sa-vatsām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय) + vatsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (2nd case/accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• dattvā: having given
• dattvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), ‘having given’

• dvije: to/for a Brahmin (lit. in a twice-born)
• dvije: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (7th case/locative), एकवचन (singular)

• sarva-vrata-upapanne: endowed with all vows/observances
• sarva-vrata-upapanne: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + vrata (प्रातिपदिक) + upapanna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (7th case/locative), एकवचन (singular)

• phalam: fruit, result
• phalam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन (singular)

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

• yat: which
• yat: Visheshya (Correlative/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन (singular)

• syāt: would be
• syāt: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshya (Correlative/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन (singular)

• iha: here
• iha: Desha (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: here)

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle: indeed/only)

• nūnam: certainly
• nūnam: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nūnam (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: certainly)

Speaker

Rudra/Śiva (as indicated by the adhyāya’s concluding self-referential verses: 'iti rudraḥ svayaṃ jagau')

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhṛgu-tīrtha region (Revā-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa / Pāṇḍunandana

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim offers a kapilā cow with calf to a disciplined brāhmaṇa near a riverbank shrine; attendants hold water-pot and kusa; the sacred landscape glows.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa (dvija)
• cow (kapilā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity offered with discernment—especially go-dāna to a disciplined Brāhmaṇa—quickly yields dharmic merit, particularly in a sanctified tīrtha context.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa context points to Bhṛgutīrtha/Bhṛgukaccha as a merit-amplifying sacred geography associated with the Narmadā (Revā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Go-dāna: gifting a milk-giving cow (with calf), ideally to a Brāhmaṇa established in vows (vrata).