Question

Is Sambhoga (sex) the need of the body or soul as per Vedas?

Answer

Are the carnal desires being needed by the body or the soul?

No Clearly carnal desires are not needed by soul , nor it is attached by it. It's also said in our Upanishads that he (soul) is pure one, without a (subtle) body, without blemish, without muscles (a gross body) . Himself devoid of senses, He shines through the functions of the senses. But three gunas, are responsible for the bondage of the soul. The soul is free, because it has no bonds of attachment. The soul is serene, because it cannot suffer or fear suffering.

The soul is free, because it has no bonds of attachment. Here is whatThe Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Verse 22 says -:

स एष नेति नेत्यात्मा, अगृह्यो नहि गृह्यते, अशीर्यो नहि शीर्यते, असङ्गो |
नहि सज्यते, असितो न व्यथते, न रिष्यति; एतमु हैवैते न तरत इति ||22||

sa eṣa neti netyātmā, agṛhyo nahi gṛhyate, aśīryo nahi śīryate, asaṅgo
nahi sajyate, asito na vyathate, na riṣyati; etamu haivaite na tarata iti

It never decays; unattached, for It is never attached; unfettered—It never feels pain, and never suffers injury. (It is but proper) that the sage is never overtaken by these two thoughts.

The Self in us functioning through the sense organs looks as though It possesses all sense organs. But the sense organs decay and perish while the Consciousness which functions through them and which provides each of them with its own individual faculty is Eternal Here is what Svetasvatara Upanisad - Page No. 33 says -

सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम् |
सर्वस्य प्रभुमीशानं सर्वस्य शरणं बृहत ||१७||

sarvendriyaguṇābhāsaṃ sarvendriyavivarjitaṃ
sarvasya prabhum īśānaṃ sarvasya śaraṇaṃ suhṛt 3.17

Himself devoid of senses, He shines through the functions of the senses. He is the capable ruler of all; He is the refuge of all. He is great.

Considering the individual soul and the universal soul are two sides of the same reality.

Here in Isha-Upanishad verse -8 is said that

स पर्यागच्छुक्रकायमव्रणस्नाविरं शुद्धमपापविद्धम् ।
कविर्मनीषि परिभूः स्वयम्भूर्यथातथ्यतोऽर्थान्
व्यदधाच्छाश्वतीभ्यः समाभ्यः ॥ 8 ॥

sa paryāgacchukrakāyamavraṇasnāviraṃ śuddhamapāpaviddham |
kavirmanīṣi paribhūḥ svayambhūryathātathyato'rthān
vyadadhācchāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ ||

He, the self-existent One, is everywhere-the pure one, without a (subtle) body, without blemish, without muscles (a gross body), holy and without the taint of sin; the all seeing, the all knowing, the all-encompassing One is He. He has duly assigned their respective duties to the eternal Prajapatis (cosmic powers).

But When individual souls encounter Nature and enter her net of maya (illusion), she weaves her materiality around them and binds them to corporeality. For the soul the body becomes the field. Since the body is subject to the gunas, it engages in desire-ridden actions and becomes bound to karma and the cycle of births and deaths. The embodied souls also come under the influence of ego (ahamkara), which is a reality or a modification (tattvas) of Nature

Desire-ridden actions, which are induced by the triple gunas, are responsible for the bondage of the soul. Apart from the senses, the gunas or modes namely sattva (purity), rajas (activity) and tamas (inertia) play an important role in the bondage of the soul. When a soul is drawn into the body by the power of Shakti or Prakriti, it becomes bound to it and to the objective world through desires and attachment as part of the interplay of the triple gunas Thereby the mind and the intellect become clouded and the ego takes control of them. The ego is the false self or the not Self. It is a shadow or an illusion that survives by the power of Prakriti and acts as if it is the real Self to prevent the beings from knowing who they are.

Here is what Shreemad Bhagvad Gita 14.5 Says –

सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसंभवाः।
निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम्।।14.5।।

sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥ
nibadhnanti mahā-bāho dehe dehinam avyayam

Material nature consists of three modes – goodness, passion and ignorance. When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he becomes conditioned by these modes.

Conclusion -So by looking at the above verses from Vedas , and looking at nature of soul (Atman) we can conclude that Sambhoga or Carnal desires are needed by Body and not by soul .

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