Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 32
Naraka-varṇana: The Hellish Planets and the Karmic Logic of Punishment
ये त्विह वा अनागसोऽरण्ये ग्रामे वा वैश्रम्भकैरुपसृतानुपविश्रम्भय्य जिजीविषून् शूलसूत्रादिषूपप्रोतान्क्रीडनकतया यातयन्ति तेऽपि च प्रेत्य यमयातनासु शूलादिषु प्रोतात्मान: क्षुत्तृड्भ्यां चाभिहता: कङ्कवटादिभिश्चेतस्ततस्तिग्मतुण्डैराहन्यमाना आत्मशमलं स्मरन्ति ॥ ३२ ॥
ye tv iha vā anāgaso ’raṇye grāme vā vaiśrambhakair upasṛtān upaviśrambhayya jijīviṣūn śūla-sūtrādiṣūpaprotān krīḍanakatayā yātayanti te ’pi ca pretya yama-yātanāsu śūlādiṣu protātmānaḥ kṣut-tṛḍbhyāṁ cābhihatāḥ kaṅka-vaṭādibhiś cetas tatas tigma-tuṇḍair āhanyamānā ātma-śamalaṁ smaranti.
In this life some people give shelter to animals and birds that come to them for protection in the village or forest, and after making them believe that they will be protected, such people pierce them with lances or threads and play with them like toys, giving them great pain. After death such people are brought by the assistants of Yamarāja to the hell known as Śūlaprota, where their bodies are pierced with sharp, needlelike lances. They suffer from hunger and thirst, and sharp-beaked birds such as vultures and herons come at them from all sides to tear at their bodies. Tortured and suffering, they can then remember the sinful activities they committed in the past.
FAQs
This verse states that those who deceive innocent beings and torture them for sport receive corresponding punishments after death in Yama’s realms, where they themselves are impaled, starved, and attacked by sharp-beaked birds, forcing remembrance of their sin.
In Canto 5 Chapter 26, Shukadeva explains karmic consequences to warn Parikshit (and listeners) that cruelty and deceit have specific reactions, encouraging dharma, compassion, and devotion rather than sinful enjoyment.
Do not exploit trust or harm vulnerable beings—whether people or animals—for entertainment or gain; cultivate compassion (dayā) and nonviolence (ahiṁsā), knowing that actions create consequences.