Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 35
पापभागी स विज्ञेय इति सत्यं न संशयः । उत्कोचं यस्तु गृह्णाति पापिनां दुष्टकर्मिणाम् । सकलं च भवेत्तस्य पापं नैवात्र सशयः
pāpabhāgī sa vijñeya iti satyaṃ na saṃśayaḥ | utkocaṃ yastu gṛhṇāti pāpināṃ duṣṭakarmiṇām | sakalaṃ ca bhavettasya pāpaṃ naivātra saśayaḥ
Qu’on le sache : il est partageur du péché ; c’est vérité, sans aucun doute. Et celui qui reçoit un pot-de-vin de pécheurs aux actes mauvais, sur lui retombe l’intégralité de ce péché ; ici, point de doute.
Narratorial voice (contextual dharma-instruction; explicit speaker not stated in this verse)
Scene: A solemn dharma-assembly where a judge/official refuses a pouch of coins offered by a grim, sinful petitioner; the rejected bribe appears as dark smoke returning to the giver, while a palm-leaf text of ‘nīti’ is held aloft.
FAQs
Corruption is spiritually ruinous: taking bribes makes one bear the full burden of the wrongdoer’s sin.
No site is praised in this verse; it is a dharma-teaching on justice and moral accountability.
No ritual is prescribed; it delivers a strict ethical prohibition against accepting bribes.