Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43
गवां हि विक्रयार्थे च यदुक्तं मनुना स्वयम् । गवां विक्रयजं वित्तं यो गृह्णाति द्विजोत्तमः
gavāṃ hi vikrayārthe ca yaduktaṃ manunā svayam | gavāṃ vikrayajaṃ vittaṃ yo gṛhṇāti dvijottamaḥ
Car Manu lui-même a déclaré au sujet de la vente des vaches : le meilleur des deux-fois-nés qui accepte une richesse issue de la vente des vaches contracte une faute grave.
Vasiṣṭha (implied by continuation; admonishing the king using Manu-smṛti authority)
Tirtha: Nandinī (contextual tīrtha)
Type: kund
Listener: Rājā (addressed indirectly through the cited rule)
Scene: A didactic moment: a sage cites Manu’s Smṛti on the prohibition and fault of accepting cow-sale wealth; the king listens, tension rising around the fate of Nandinī (the cow).
FAQs
Dharma restrains greed: sacred beings like cows are not to be treated as commodities, and tainted wealth harms spiritual merit.
This verse occurs within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya narrative setting; the snippet itself emphasizes dharma rather than naming a specific tīrtha.
No direct rite is prescribed; it cites Dharmaśāstric authority (Manu) to prohibit accepting wealth from cow-sale.