Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 100
गवां गवाह्निकं नैव कथं मुक्तिर्भविष्यति । न याति विष्णुशरणं संप्राप्ते दक्षिणायने
gavāṃ gavāhnikaṃ naiva kathaṃ muktirbhaviṣyati | na yāti viṣṇuśaraṇaṃ saṃprāpte dakṣiṇāyane
หากเขาไม่ประกอบกิจประจำวันอันพึงมีต่อโคทั้งหลาย แล้วโมกษะจะบังเกิดได้อย่างไร? ครั้นดักษิณายนมาถึง เขาก็มิได้เข้าถึงที่พึ่งแห่งพระวิษณุ
Unspecified narrator within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa (deduced from section context)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha (Prabhāsa-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: nṛpottama
Scene: A brāhmaṇa neglects cows at dawn; cows stand unfed near a cowshed; in the sky the Sun begins its southern course; a Viṣṇu shrine appears in the distance, symbolizing refuge not taken; the narrator’s question ‘how will liberation be?’ hangs over the scene.
FAQs
Liberation is linked to compassionate dharma—especially service to cows and sincere devotion (taking refuge) rather than negligence.
The teaching is framed inside the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya of the Prabhāsa sacred landscape, where dharma is emphasized as the true fruit of tīrtha.
Regular performance of gava-āhnika (daily cow-related duty/service) and cultivating Viṣṇu-śaraṇa, with seasonal awareness (dakṣiṇāyana).