Verse Text
22. nāmākṣara-dhṛtiḥ, yathā skānde—
hari-nāmākṣara-yutaṁ bhāle gopī-mṛḍaṅkitam |
tulasī-mālikoraskaṁ spṛśeyur na yamodbhaṭāḥ ||123||
Translation
Wearing the syllables of the name (verse 84), shown in the Skanda Purāṇa: The servants of Yama will not touch those who have the names of Hari on their body, who have gopī-candana-tilaka on their foreheads and who have tulasī beads on their chests.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Gopī-mṛḍaṅkitam means tilaka made of gopī-candana.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
A similar statement is in the Skanda Purāṇa, which says, “Persons who are decorated with tilaka, or gopī-candana, and who mark their bodies all over with the holy names of the Lord, and on whose necks and breasts there are tulasī beads, are never approached by the Yamadūtas.” The Yamadūtas are the constables of King Yama (the lord of death), who punishes all sinful men. Vaiṣṇavas are never called for by such constables of Yamarāja. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the narration of Ajāmila’s deliverance, it is said that Yamarāja gave clear instructions to his assistants not to approach the Vaiṣṇavas. Vaiṣṇavas are beyond the jurisdiction of Yamarāja’s activities.