Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.26.21
यस्त्विह वै सर्वाभिगमस्तममुत्र निरये वर्तमानं वज्रकण्टकशाल्मलीमारोप्य निष्कर्षन्ति ॥ २१ ॥
yas tv iha vai sarvābhigamas tam amutra niraye vartamānaṁ vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalīm āropya niṣkarṣanti.
[yas tv iha vai sarvaabhigamas tam amutra niraye vartamaanam vajrakantaka-shaalmaleem aaropya nishkarshanti.]
Word-for-word
yaḥ
—
anyone who
tu
—
but
iha
—
in this life
vai
—
indeed
sarva-abhigamaḥ
—
indulges in sex life indiscriminately, with both men and animals
tam
—
him
amutra
—
in the next life
niraye
—
in the hell
vartamānam
—
existing
vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalīm
—
a silk-cotton tree with thorns like thunderbolts
āropya
—
mounting him on
niṣkarṣanti
—
they pull him out.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yas tv iha vai sarvābhigamas tam amutra niraye vartamānaṁ vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalīm āropya niṣkarṣanti.
yaḥ
anyone who
tu
but
iha
in this life
vai
indeed
sarva-abhigamaḥ
indulges in sex life indiscriminately, with both men and animals
tam
him
amutra
in the next life
niraye
in the hell
vartamānam
existing
vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalīm
a silk-cotton tree with thorns like thunderbolts
āropya
mounting him on
niṣkarṣanti
they pull him out.
A person who indulges in sex indiscriminately — even with animals — is taken after death to the hell known as Vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalī. In this hell there is a silk-cotton tree full of thorns as strong as thunderbolts. The agents of Yamarāja hang the sinful man on that tree and pull him down forcibly so that the thorns very severely tear his body.
Purport
The sexual urge is so strong that sometimes a man indulges in sexual relations with a cow, or a woman indulges in sexual relations with a dog. Such men and women are put into the hell known as Vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalī. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement forbids illicit sex. From the description of these verses, we can understand what an extremely sinful act illicit sex is. Sometimes people disbelieve these descriptions of hell, but whether one believes or not, everything must be carried out by the laws of nature, which no one can avoid.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
A person who indulges in sex indiscriminately—even with animals—is taken after death to the hell known as Vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalī. The agents of Yamarāja hang the sinful man up on a śālmalī tree with thorns as strong as thunderbolts and then pull him off.
Sarvābhigamaḥ means “approaching even animals.”
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Indiscriminate sexuality leads to Vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalī — being torn on thorns as sharp as thunderbolts. The intensity of unrestrained desire matches the intensity of its eventual cost. Restraint is not denial; it is protection.
Reflection Questions
- Where has unrestrained sexual desire already cost me more than I admitted?
- What discipline would let me honor desire without being shredded by it?
My note
Source: vedabase.io