Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

पुच्छं संगृह्य सुरभेरग्रे कृत्वा द्विजं ततः

Transliteration

pucchaṃ saṃgṛhya surabheragre kṛtvā dvijaṃ tataḥ

Translation

แล้วจึงจับหางของสุรภีไว้ และจัดให้พราหมณ์อยู่เบื้องหน้า (โคนั้น),

Word by Word

• पुच्छम्: tail
• पुच्छम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुच्छ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• संगृह्य: having grasped
• संगृह्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘संगृह्य’ = having grasped/collected

• सुरभेः: of Surabhī (the cow)
• सुरभेः: Shashthi-sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरभि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (of Surabhī/cow)

• अग्रे: in front
• अग्रे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘in front’

• कृत्वा: having placed/made
• कृत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having made/placed’

• द्विजम्: the brāhmaṇa (twice-born)
• द्विजम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/अनन्तर्यवाचक अव्यय (then/thereafter)

Speaker

Narratorial/ritual-instruction voice (speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaitaraṇī-dhenu (Surabhī as archetype)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up ritual moment: the donor respectfully holds Surabhī’s tail; the brāhmaṇa stands ahead guiding the movement; the cow is calm, adorned with garlands and cloth.

Characters & Entities

• Surabhī (cow)
• Brāhmaṇa (dvija)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is enacted through precise, reverent action—outer ritual expresses inner surrender and trust in sacred means.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction belongs to Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā region); the verse is procedural and not tied to a single named tirtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Grasp the cow’s tail and position the Brāhmaṇa ahead, as part of the Vaitaraṇī-dhenu dāna sequence.