Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 94

Devanagari script

यत्र क्षीरवहा नद्यो यत्र पायस कर्दमाः । न जरा बाधते यत्र तत्र गच्छंति गोप्रदाः

Transliteration

yatra kṣīravahā nadyo yatra pāyasa kardamāḥ | na jarā bādhate yatra tatra gacchaṃti gopradāḥ

Translation

ที่ใดมีสายน้ำเป็นน้ำนมไหลริน ที่ใดเลนตมเป็นข้าวทิพย์ปายาสะ และที่ใดชรามิอาจเบียดเบียน—ที่นั่นแลผู้ถวายทานโคย่อมไปถึง

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय/सम्बन्धबोधक (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• क्षीरवहाः: carrying milk
• क्षीरवहाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षीर + वह (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन — Nominative plural; क्षीरं वहन्ति इति (milk-carrying); विशेषण (qualifying नद्यः)

• नद्यः: rivers
• नद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/1st case), बहुवचन — Nominative plural

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• पायस: rice-milk / sweet milk-food
• पायस: Sambandha (Attribute/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पायस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन — Nominative singular; समासपूर्वपदवत् (used attributively)

• कर्दमाः: muds/slurries
• कर्दमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्दम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/1st case), बहुवचन — Nominative plural

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• जरा: old age
• जरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/1st case), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• बाधते: afflicts/harms
• बाधते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बाध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Present, 3rd sg

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (correlative adverb: ‘there’)

• गच्छन्ति: go
• गच्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — Present, 3rd pl

• गोप्रदाः: givers of cows
• गोप्रदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो + प्रद (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/1st case), बहुवचन — Nominative plural; गवां प्रदाः (givers of cows)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A surreal heaven-scape: broad rivers of milk flowing through jeweled banks; fields where the ground is soft ‘pāyasa’ (sweet rice) like fragrant golden mud; radiant beings without wrinkles; go-dātās arriving on a path of light, carrying water-pot and offering gesture, welcomed by attendants.

Characters & Entities

• Gopradāḥ (cow-donors)
• Milk rivers (Kṣīravahā nadyaḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gau-dāna is praised as producing extraordinary merit, leading to a blissful realm free from decay.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse describes a heavenly destination rather than an earthly tirtha; it appears within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s merit-literature.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Go-pradāna (donation of a cow) is the key act whose fruit is described.