Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44
विमोहाद्ब्राह्मणो यो गां विक्रीणाति धनेच्छया । विक्रीणाति न सन्देहः स निजां जननीमिह
vimohādbrāhmaṇo yo gāṃ vikrīṇāti dhanecchayā | vikrīṇāti na sandehaḥ sa nijāṃ jananīmiha
Par égarement, le brāhmane qui vend une vache par désir d’argent, sans aucun doute, en ce monde même, vend sa propre mère.
Jamadagni (continued)
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (and by extension the audience of the māhātmya)
Scene: A stark moral tableau: a brāhmaṇa figure handing over a cow for coins, while a faint superimposed image suggests ‘mother’ being sold—an allegorical overlay conveying the verse’s shock.
FAQs
Greed-driven acts that violate sacred relationships (cow as ‘mother’) collapse one’s moral foundation and invite grave demerit.
Not specified in this single verse; the passage supports the tīrthamāhātmya’s dharmic framing by condemning cow-sale.
A prohibition is implied: do not sell cows, especially under delusion and greed.