Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 103
शाल्मलीं तेऽवगूहन्ति परदाररता हि ये । परस्य योषितं हृत्वा ब्रह्मस्वमपहृत्य च
śālmalīṃ te'vagūhanti paradāraratā hi ye | parasya yoṣitaṃ hṛtvā brahmasvamapahṛtya ca
Mereka yang ketagih kepada isteri orang lain dipaksa memeluk pokok Śālmalī (kapuk berduri); demikian juga mereka yang menculik perempuan orang lain dan mereka yang mencuri harta milik para brāhmaṇa (brahma-sva) digiring ke seksaan itu.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced from Purāṇic narration style within Āvantya Khaṇḍa)
Scene: A gigantic Śālmalī tree bristling with long thorns; sinners compelled to clasp it, bodies pierced; Yama’s attendants drive them; the tree stands like a living instrument of retribution.
FAQs
It warns that sexual misconduct (paradāra) and violating sacred trust (brahma-sva) are grave adharma leading to severe karmic consequences.
The verse occurs within the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā/Revā Māhātmya) context, where the Revā river-region is the sacred geography backdrop, though this specific line focuses on moral consequence rather than naming a single tīrtha.
No direct ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse; it is a dharma-śikṣā statement describing the fruit of adharma.