Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24
यो हीदृशीं गां ददाति देवोद्देशेन मानवः । प्रत्युताधोगतिं याति क्लिश्यते च महेश्वरि
yo hīdṛśīṃ gāṃ dadāti devoddeśena mānavaḥ | pratyutādhogatiṃ yāti kliśyate ca maheśvari
لیکن جو انسان دیوتا کے نام پر ایسی نااہل گائے دیتا ہے، وہ الٹا پستی کی حالت کو پہنچتا ہے اور دکھ اٹھاتا ہے، اے مہیشوری۔
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Maheśvarī (Pārvatī)
Scene: A stark moral scene: a man offers an unfit cow ‘in the deity’s name’; the brāhmaṇa recoils; above, a shadowy descent motif (adhogati) contrasts with the temple’s sanctity; Pārvatī is addressed as witness.
FAQs
Invoking a deity’s name cannot sanctify an unethical act; improper giving brings suffering and decline.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the text warns that wrong offerings corrupt the intended merit.
A warning: do not offer an unfit cow as a ‘deity-dedicated’ gift; it results in negative karmic fruit.