Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 48
हत्वा गावो वरं मांसं भक्षयीत द्विजाधमः । वरं जीवन्समं मत्स्यैर्न कुर्याद्वेदविक्रयम् । ब्रह्महत्यासमं पापं न भूतं न भविष्यति
hatvā gāvo varaṃ māṃsaṃ bhakṣayīta dvijādhamaḥ | varaṃ jīvansamaṃ matsyairna kuryādvedavikrayam | brahmahatyāsamaṃ pāpaṃ na bhūtaṃ na bhaviṣyati
Besser wäre es, wenn ein elender Zweimalgeborener Kühe tötete und Fleisch äße; besser, auf einer Stufe mit Fischen zu leben—als die Veda zu verkaufen. Eine Sünde, der brahma-hatyā gleich, hat es nie gegeben und wird es nie geben, (schwerer) als diese.
Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa māhātmya narration style)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A stark moral tableau: the text declares that even shocking transgressions are ‘preferable’ to selling the Veda, underscoring the inviolability of śruti. The scene contrasts a brāhmaṇa tempted by coins with the radiant, untouchable Veda as a divine presence.
FAQs
Commercializing sacred revelation is portrayed as an extreme dharmic downfall, condemned even more strongly than other notorious transgressions.
The warning is framed for tīrtha-context generally, within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya.
Do not sell Vedic recitation/teaching; it is condemned as a brahma-hatyā-like sin.