Naraka (Hinduism)

Naraka (Hinduism) (Sanskrit: नरक) is the Hindu equivalent of Hell, where sinners are tormented after death. It is also the abode of Yama, the god of Death. It is described as located in the south of the universe and beneath the earth.

The central panel portrays Yama, aided by Chitragupta and Yamadutas, judging the dead. Other panels depict various realms/hells of Naraka.

The astral spheres - Nehemiah Davis: The subastral plane is Naraka consisting of seven hellish realms corresponding to the seven chakras belwo the base of the spine. In the astral plane, the Soul is enshrouded in the astral body, called Sukshma sharira.

Quotes

• The Narakas are the realms of suffering that equate to the Christian hell or, more accurately, to purgatory. If a person is born into one of these realms as a result of bad karma, this is not a permanent punishment - he or she may well be reborn into one of the higher worlds in the next life. Watched over by Yama, judge of the world, the Narakas are not only physical places but also states of consciousness – and symbols of the suffering that can take place during life, as well as after death.
  • Jane Alexander, in The Body, Mind, Spirit Miscellany: The Ultimate Collection of Fascinations, Facts, Truths, and Insights, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2009, p. 150

• The connotation of the Sanskrit word for a hell, Naraka, is a joyless.
  • Alexander Berzin, in Wise Teacher, Wise Student: Tibetan Approaches to a Healthy Relationship, Snow Lion Publications, 16 June 2010, p. 191

• Vishnu, the Supreme Being, before creating anything which now exists, began by creating souls, which at first animated bodies of fantastic shapes. During their union with these bodies they either committed sin or practiced virtue. After a long abode in these provisional dwelling-places, they were withdrawn and summoned before the tribunal of Yama, who judges the dead. This divinity admitted into Swarga (paradise) those souls which had led virtuous lives; and he shut up in Naraka (hell) those souls which had given themselves up to sin.
  • Bhagavata, in Jean Antoine Dubois, Carrie Chapman Catt Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies: The Classic First Hand Account of India in the Early Nineteenth Century, Courier Dover Publications, 2002, p. 556

• Those who are guilty of them [fearful crime] expiate them after death, by one or more transmigrations of the soul into some vile animal, or by the torments of Naraka, i.e., hell.
  • Bhagavata, in "Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies: The Classic First Hand Account of India in the Early Nineteenth Century", p. 197

• Those that do not worship the Devi, go to Naraka or hell ; moreover they suffer much from various diseases in this world. Those that do not worship the Devi are always defeated by their enemies, are void of wife and sons, become stupid and suffer pains from their unsatisfied desires.
  • Srimad Devi Bhagavatam, in Baman Das Basu The Sacred books of the Hindus, Volume 27, Part 1, Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd

• Treating of a future state, [he says], that such as during their abode on earth have persevered in the practice of piety, and virtue, have worshiped God purely from gratitude, love, and admiration, and have done good, without being induced either by the fear of punishment, or the hope of reward, will not stand in need of being purified in Naraka, or of coming into this world to occupy other forms, but will be immediately admitted to celestial happiness.
  • Brahmanas, in Andrew Kippis The New Annual Register, Or General Repository of History, Politics, and Literature: To which is Prefixed, a Short Review of the Principal Transactions of the Present Reign, Volume 11, 1791, p. 98

• In the early Vedic tradition, the death god Yama kept two dogs, Syama the Black and Sabala the Spotted, to bring and hold souls in the Purgatory-like afterlife called Naraka. Even the Norse god Odin kept a pair of wolves, Geri and Freki.
  • Nathan Robert Brown, in The Mythology of Supernatural: The Signs and Symbols Behind the Popular TV Show, Penguin, 2 August 2011, p. 62

• The subastral plane is Naraka consisting of seven hellish realms corresponding to the seven chakras belwo the base of the spine. In the astral plane, the Soul is enshrouded in the astral body, called Sukshma sharira.
  • Nehemiah Davis, in The Ancient Language of the Soul: The Mystic Knowledge of Mantra, Xlibris Corporation, 28September 2010, p. 179

• ..the hellswhich are situated beneath the earth and beneath the waters, and into which sinners are finally sent are the different Narakas known as Raurava, Śúkara, Rodha, Tála, Viśasana, Mahájwála, Taptakumbha, Lavańa, Vimohana, Rudhirándha, Vaitaraní, Krimíśa, Krimibhojana, Asipatravana, Krishńa, Lálábhaksha, Dáruńa, Púyaváha, Pápa, Vahnijwála, Adhośiras, Sandansa, Kálasútra, Tamas, Avíchi, Śwabhojana, Apratisht́ha, and another Avíchi. These and many other fearful hells are the awful provinces of the kingdom of Yama, terrible with instruments of torture and with fire; into which are hurled all those who are addicted when alive to sinful practices.
  • Vishnu Purana, in The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840 CHAP. VI.], Sacred texts

Various sins and corresponding punishments in hells.

• These hells, and hundreds and thousands of others, are the places in which sinners pay the penalty of their crimes. As numerous as are the offences that men commit, so many are the hells in which they are punished: and all who deviate from the duties imposed upon them by their caste and condition, whether in thought, word, or deed, are sentenced to punishment in the regions of the damned.
  • Vishnu Purana, in "The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840] CHAP. VI.

• The gods in heaven are beheld by the inhabitants of hell, as they move with their heads inverted; whilst the god, as they cast their eyes downwards, behold the sufferings of those in hell.
  • Vishnu Purana, in "The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840] CHAP. VI.

• Heaven (or Swarga) is that which delights the mind; hell (or Naraka) is that which gives it pain: hence vice is called hell; virtue is called heaven.
  • Vishnu Purana, in "The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840] CHAP. VI.

• That sinner goes to Naraka who neglects the due expiation of his guilt.
  • Vishnu Purana, in "The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840] CHAP. VI.

• The man who thinks of Vishńu, day and night, goes not go to Naraka after death, for all his sins are atoned for.
  • Vishnu Purana, in "The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840] CHAP. VI.

• It is said that killing even a foetus is as criminal as killing a Brahman; and that for killing a female or woman, the punishment is to suffer in the Naraka, or Hell called Kata Shutala, for as many years as there are hairs on the female’s body, and that afterwards such person shall be born again and successively become a leper.
  • Brehma Bywant Purana, in Mara Hvistendahl Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men, PublicAffairs, 2011, p. 64

• The Sanskrit term Naraka is often mistranslated into English as the Hindu equivalent of the Christian "hell" or Catholic "purgatory." However, this misunderstanding is likely a result of there being no exact word in English equal to Naraka. Naraka is not a place of eternal damnation, as is hell of Western Christian theology. It is also not a place of forced purification where soul must remain until some final Judgment Day, as the Catholic purgatory. Instead Naraka is a place of purification where the spirits of the deceased come to be cleaned through suffering over a span of time (the length of which depends on how much negative karma the spirit accumulated during life). Damnation by a god is not what sends a person to Naraka, but rather their own negative and immoral actions during life.
  • Evans Smith, Nathan Brown in The Complete Idiot's Guide to World Mythology, Penguin, 1 July 2008, p. 79

• Naraka is abode of darkness. Literally, “pertaining to man”. The nether world, equivalent to the Western term hell, a gross region of Antarloka. Naraka is a congested, distressful area where demonic beings and young souls may sojourn until they resolve the darksome karmas they have created. Here being suffer the consequences of their own misdeeds in previous lives. Naraka is understood as having seven regions, called talas, corresponding to the states of consciousness of the seven lower chakras.
  • Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, in Living with Siva Pocketbook, Himalayan Academy Publications, P.474

The seven principal chakras...

• The seven principal chakras are situated along the spinal cord from the base to the cranium chamber. Besides seven chakras exist below the spine. They are seats of instinctive consciousness, the origin of jealousy, hatred, envy, guilt, sorrow etc. They constitute the lower or hellish world, called Naraka or pâtâla. Thus, there are 14 major chakras in all. The seven upper chakras are: 1) mûlâdhâra (base of spine): memory, time and space; 2) svâdhish†hâna (below navel): reason; 3) manipura (solar plexus):will power, 4) anahata (heart center): direct cognition; 5) vishudha (throat): divine love; 6) ajna (third eye): divine sight; 7)sahasrara (crown of head): illumination, godliness. The seven lower chakras are 1)atala (hips):fear and lust; 2)vitala (thighs): raging anger; 3)sutala (knees): retaliatory jealousy; 4) talatala (calves): prolonged mental confusion; 5)rasatala (ankles): selfishness; 6)'mahatala' (feet): absence of conscience; 7) patala (located in the soles of the feet): murder and [[malice.
  • Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, in "Living with Siva Pocketbook", p. 460

• Enjoyment in Swarga, like punishment in Naraka, is only for a certain period, according to the merit, or demerit, of the individual. When the account is balanced, the man is born is born again amongst mankind.
  • Horace H. Wilson quoting from Vishnu Purana, in Works: ¬Vol. ¬7 : ¬The Vishṅu Purāṅa: a system of Hindu mythology ..., Volume 7, Trübner, 1865, P.137

• The virtuous are then conveyed to Swarga or Elysium, whilst the wicked are driven to the different regions of Naraka or Tartarus.
  • Horace H. Wilson quoting from Vishnu Purana, in "Works: ¬Vol. ¬7 : ¬The Vishṅu Purāṅa: a system of Hindu mythology ..., Volume 7", [216].

The Big Picture Making Sense Out of Life and Religion

Yama's Court and Hell. The Blue figure is Yama with his consort Yami and Chitragupta.
A 17th-century painting from the Government Museum in Chennai.

Hinduism, in Sean Williams The Big Picture Making Sense Out of Life and Religion Lulu.com, 1 June 2009

• In Hinduism there are different opinions from various schools of thought on Hell which is called Naraka. For some it is metaphysical, or a lower spiritual plane (called Naraka Loka) where the spirit is judged, or partial fruits of Karma affected in a next life.
  • p.89

• In Mahabharata there is a mention of the Pandavas going to Heaven and Kauravas to Hell.
  • p.89

• Hells are also described in various Puranas and other scriptures. Garuda Purana gives a detailed account of Hell, its features, and enlists amount of punishment for most of the crimes like modern day penal code.
  • p.89

• It is believed that people who commit sins go to Hell and have to go through punishments in accordance with the sins they committed. The god Yamaraj, who is also the god of death, presides over Hell (Satan). Detailed accounts of all the sins committed by an individual are kept by Chitragupta, who is the record keeper in Yama’s court. Chitragupta reads out the sins committed and Yama orders appropriate punishments to be given to the individual...These punishments include dipping in boiling oil, burning in fire, torture using various weapons, etc, in various hells. Individuals who finish their quota of the punishments are reborn in accordance with their balance of Karma.
  • p.89

About Hindu Hell

Hell, in About Hindu Hell, Hell-On-Line

• The earliest evidence for notions of hell related to Hinduism are found in the Vedic texts, which date from c. 1500–1000 BCE. In the long tradition of Hindu literature there was a significant development in the concept of hell from the period of the Vedas through the period of the Puranas (c. 300–1500 CE).

• Hindu hell, originally one space in Vedic literature, became segmented in the epic literature and Puranas, until approximately 80 names for different hells could be identified.

• Rivers are generally prominent features of hell, and one usually forms the infernal border. Hindu hell descriptions enumerate six, seven or as many as 99 rivers.

• Punishments can be graphically described, but often the Sanskrit names for different hells substitute for descriptions, ranging from Ambarisa: a hell associated by its name with a frying pan; to Lohapinda, a hell associated with red-hot iron balls; and Vinmutra: feces and urine hell. Each hell is simply one of many places where a soul might find itself, with or without connection to a particular deed.

• One of the unusual features of Hindu hell is that as often as not there are no punishing agents specifically mentioned. Those who suffer often act out their own punishments, forced to endure a destiny or undertake some course of action, rather than being the object of torture. As the Ramayana explains, they eat the fruit of their own acts.