Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 100

Devanagari script

स्वर्णशृङ्गी रूप्यशिफारुक्मलाङ्गूलसंयुता । रत्नपृष्ठी तु दातव्या कांस्यपात्रावदोहिनी

Transliteration

svarṇaśṛṅgī rūpyaśiphārukmalāṅgūlasaṃyutā | ratnapṛṣṭhī tu dātavyā kāṃsyapātrāvadohinī

Translation

ایسی گائے کا دان کرے جس کے سینگ سونے سے آراستہ ہوں، کھُر چاندی کے ہوں اور دُم سونے کے زیور سے مزین ہو؛ پشت پر جواہرات ہوں، اور وہ کانسی کے برتن میں دودھ دینے والی ہو۔

Word by Word

• svarṇa-śṛṅgī: having golden horns
• svarṇa-śṛṅgī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svarṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + śṛṅgin/śṛṅgī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; विशेषण

• rūpya-śiphā-rukma-lāṅgūla-saṃyutā: endowed with a silver hip and a golden tail
• rūpya-śiphā-rukma-lāṅgūla-saṃyutā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rūpya (प्रातिपदिक) + śiphā (प्रातिपदिक) + rukma (प्रातिपदिक) + lāṅgūla (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyuta (कृदन्त; सम्+युज् धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; विशेषण (धेनोः)

• ratna-pṛṣṭhī: having a jewel(-like) back
• ratna-pṛṣṭhī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ratna (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭhin/pṛṣṭhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; विशेषण

• tu: indeed/and
• tu: Sambandha/Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निपात; विशेषार्थ/विरोध/अनुशासन (indeed/but)

• dātavyā: should be given
• dātavyā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धा॒तु) + tavya (कृदन्त; विधेय/कर्तव्य)
• Form: कृदन्त (तव्यत्-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Gerundive/passive necessity: ‘is to be given’

• kāṃsya-pātra-avadohinī: a milch-cow with a bronze vessel (for milking)
• kāṃsya-pātra-avadohinī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṃsya (प्रातिपदिक) + pātra (प्रातिपदिक) + avadohinī (प्रातिपदिक; ‘milch-cow’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; कर्ता/विधेय-सम्बन्ध (दातव्या)

Speaker

Textual narrator describing an idealized gau-dāna specification (contextual deduction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A decorated milch cow stands on the riverbank: horns capped with gold, hooves gleaming silver, tail adorned, a jeweled cloth on her back; a bronze vessel is placed for milking as the donor offers her with water-libation and mantra.

Characters & Entities

• Gau (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When performed with reverence and completeness, gau-dāna becomes a high form of dharmic offering, reflecting honor toward sacred life and sustenance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a dāna-vidhi description within the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Give a cow with prescribed adornments (golden horns, silver hooves, jeweled decoration) and provide for milking into a bronze vessel.