Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

योन्यत्र भ्रमते स्नातुं स नरो विप्रसत्तमाः । गोक्षीरे विद्यमानेऽपि ह्यर्कक्षीराय गच्छति

Transliteration

yonyatra bhramate snātuṃ sa naro viprasattamāḥ | gokṣīre vidyamāne'pi hyarkakṣīrāya gacchati

Translation

โอ้พราหมณ์ผู้ประเสริฐ บุรุษใดเที่ยวแสวงหาที่อาบน้ำแห่งอื่น—ทั้งที่มีน้ำนมโคอยู่แล้ว—กลับไปเสาะหาน้ำนมจากต้นอรกะ; ฉันใดก็ฉันนั้น เขาย่อมพลาดจากตีรถะอันสูงสุดเพราะไล่ตามสายน้ำอันด้อยกว่า

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक अव्यय (elsewhere)

• भ्रमते: wanders
• भ्रमते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• स्नातुम्: to bathe
• स्नातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्ना (धातु) + तुमुन् (Kridanta)
• Form: तुमन्त (infinitive); ‘to bathe’

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• नरः: man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• विप्रसत्तमाः: O best of Brahmins
• विप्रसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), बहुवचन; समासः—विप्राणां सत्तमाः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• गोक्षीरे: in cow’s milk
• गोक्षीरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोक्षीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—गोः क्षीरम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• विद्यमाने: being available
• विद्यमाने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √विद् (धातु) + शानच् (Kridanta)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle, आत्मनेपद-भाव); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘being present/available’

• अपि: even though
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (concessive)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

• अर्कक्षीराय: for arka-milk (milk of Calotropis)
• अर्कक्षीराय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्कक्षीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; समासः—अर्कस्य क्षीरम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• गच्छति: goes
• गच्छति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from Setukhaṇḍa narration context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṣīrakuṇḍa

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: vipra-sattamāḥ (explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher-brāhmaṇa points to a nearby shining milk-white pond while a confused pilgrim walks away toward distant muddy waters; in the foreground, a cow offers milk while an arka plant exudes bitter latex—clear moral allegory.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣīrakuṇḍa
• Arka (Calotropis)
• Brāhmaṇas (vipras)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Practice discernment: do not abandon a higher, accessible sacred means for inferior substitutes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kṣīrakuṇḍa is implied as the ‘cow’s milk’—the superior and readily available tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) is the explicit act; the verse advises choosing the best tīrtha for it.