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

เมื่อถวายทานแก่พราหมณ์ผู้ประกอบครบทุกวรตะ เป็นโคกปิลาเขาสุวรรณ น้ำนมอุดม อ่อนโยน มีศีล มีมารยาท งามวัย และมีลูกโคติดตาม ผลบุญใดเกิดจากทานนั้น ย่อมได้แน่นอน ณ ที่ศักดิ์สิทธิ์นี้เอง

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).