Naraka

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the mythological dynasty, see Bhauma dynasty. For the video game, see Naraka: Bladepoint.
Angkor Wat bas-relief depicts spirits of the dead being laid on fire in Naraka.

Naraka (

Malaysian has also been used to describe the Islamic concept of Hell.[1]

Alternatively, the "hellish beings" that are said to reside in this underworld are often referred to as Narakas. These beings are also termed in

Sanskrit
: नरकवासी, Narakavāsī).

Hinduism

Main article: Naraka (Hinduism)
A large central panel portrays Yama the god of death (often referred to as Dharma) seated on a throne; to the left stands a demon. To the right of Yama sits Chitragupta, assigned with keeping detailed records of every human being and upon their death deciding how they are to be reincarnated, depending on their previous actions.

Naraka is a realm in the

Madhva, it is not seen as a place of eternal damnation within Hinduism.[12]

In Puranas like Bhagavata Purana, Garuda Purana, and Vishnu Purana, there are elaborate descriptions of many hells. They are situated above the Garbhodaka Ocean.[13] The Vishnu Purana mentions the names of the various Narakas:[14]

The names of the different Narakas are as follows: Raurava, Śūkara, Rodha, Tāla, Viśasana, Mahājvāla, Taptakumbha, Lavaṇa, Vimohana, Rudhirāndha, Vaitaranī, Krimīśa, Krimibhojana, Asipatravana, Kṛṣṇa, Lālābhakṣa, Dāruṇa, Pūyavāha, Pāpa, Vahnijvāla, Adhośiras, Sandansa, Kālasūtra, Tamas, Avīci, Śvabhojana, Apratiṣṭha, and another Avīci. 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, Book 2, Chapter 6

expiation.[16] After the period of punishment is complete, they are reborn on earth[17] in human or bestial bodies.[18]
Therefore, Naraka is not an abode of everlasting punishment.

Yama Loka is the abode of Yama. Yama is also referred to as the Dharmaraja, or the king of dharma; Yama Loka may be compared to a temporary purgatorium for sinners (papi). According to Hindu scriptures, Yama's divine assistant, Chitragupta, maintains a record of the individual deeds of every living being in the world, and based on the complete audit of his deeds, dispatches the soul of the deceased either to Svarga (Heaven), or to the various Narakas, according to the nature of their sins. The scriptures describe that even people who have done a majority of good deeds could come to Yama Loka for redemption from the minor sins they have committed, and once the punishments have been served for those sins, they could be sent for rebirth to earth or to heaven.

At the time of death,

Vaishnavas alone.[19][20] Sri Vaishnavas are taken by Vishnuduttas to Vaikuntha, and Gaudiya Vaishnavas to Goloka.[citation needed
]

Buddhism

Main article: Naraka (Buddhism)
Yama
for judgement. In the background, Mālaya (พระมาลัย) watches from above as sinners are fried in a large oil cauldron.

In Buddhism, Naraka refers to the worlds of greatest suffering.

karma
, and they remain until the negative karma that brought them there has been used up.

Jainism

Main article: Naraka (Jainism)

In Jainism, Naraka is the name given to realm of existence in Jain cosmology having great suffering. The length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually very long—measured in billions of years. A soul is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her previous karma (actions of body, speech and mind), and resides there for a finite length of time until his karma has achieved its full result. After his karma is used up, he may be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of an earlier karma that had not yet ripened. Jain texts mention that these hells are situated in the seven grounds at the lower part of the universe. The seven grounds are:

  1. Ratna prabha
  2. Sharkara prabha
  3. Valuka prabha
  4. Panka prabha
  5. Dhuma prabha
  6. Tamaha prabha
  7. Mahatamaha prabha

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9781137012333
    p. 195
  2. ^ Śukla Yajur Veda 30.5
  3. ^ Atharva Veda 12.4.36
  4. ^ Aitareya Āraṇyaka 2.3.2.4,5
  5. ^ Mahanārāyaṇa Upaniṣad 1.50
  6. ^ Praśna Upaniṣad 3
  7. ^ Nirālamba Upaniṣad 2, 17
  8. ^ Paramahaṃsa Upaniṣad 3
  9. ^ asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ – Īśa Upaniṣad 3
  10. ^ 1.41, 1.43, 16.16, 16.21
  11. ^ Vedānta sūtra 4.3.14
  12. ^ Helmuth von Glasenapp: Der Hinduismus. Religion und Gesellschaft im heutigen Indien, Hildesheim 1978, p. 248.
  13. ^ Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.26.5
  14. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2014-08-30). "Account of the different hells, or divisions of Naraka [Chapter VI]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  15. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2014-08-30). "Account of the different hells, or divisions of Naraka [Chapter VI]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  16. ^ Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, by Swami Tapasyananda
  17. ^ Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.26.37
  18. ^ Garuḍa Purāṇa 2.10.88–89, 2.46.9–10,28
  19. ^ Bhāgavata Purāṇa 6.3
  20. ^ Nṛsiṃha Purāṇa 9.1–2

External links

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