Adhyaya 200: Description of the Forms of Infernal Torments (Naraka Yātanās)

Verse 1

पुनर्नरकयातनास्वरूपवर्णनम् ॥ ऋषिपुत्र उवाच ॥ तप्तं चैव महातप्तं महारौरवरौरवौ ॥ सप्ततालश्च नरको नरकः कालसूत्रकः ॥

The son of a ṛṣi said: “There are Tapta and Mahātapta, and also Raurava and Mahāraurava; there are Saptatāla, Naraka, and Kālasūtraka—these are the hell-realms, described again in the forms of their torments.”

Verse 2

अन्धकारश्च नरकोऽन्धकारवरस्तथा ॥ अष्टावेतॆ तु नरकाः पच्यन्ते यत्र पापिनः ॥

“And there is Andhakāra (Darkness), and likewise Andhakāravara (the ‘greater darkness’). These indeed are the eight hells—where sinners are ‘cooked,’ that is, made to undergo punitive suffering.”

Verse 3

प्रथमे प्रथमं विद्याद्द्वितीये द्विगुणं तथा ॥ तृतीये त्रिगुणं विद्याच्चतुर्थे तु चतुर्गुणम् ॥

“In the first, one should understand (the suffering) as the baseline; in the second, as twice as much; in the third, as threefold; and in the fourth, as fourfold.”

Verse 4

पञ्चमे तु गुणाः पञ्च षष्ठे षड्गुणमुच्यते ॥ सप्तमे तु गुणाः सप्त अष्टमेऽष्टविधा गुणाः ॥

“In the fifth, the multiplier is five; in the sixth it is said to be sixfold; in the seventh, sevenfold; and in the eighth, the multipliers are of eight kinds (that is, eightfold).”

Verse 5

अहोरात्रेण चाध्वानं प्रेता गच्छन्ति तत्पुरम् ॥ दुःखितानां ततो दुःखं दुःखाद्दुःखतरं ततः ॥

“In a day and a night they traverse the journey; the departed spirits (pretas) go to that city (realm). For those already afflicted, there is suffering thereafter—then, from suffering, suffering even greater than suffering.”

Verse 6

दुःखमेवात्र न सुखं दुःखैर्दुःखं विवर्ध्यते ॥ उपायस्तत्र नैवास्ति येन स्वल्पं सुखं भवेत् ॥

Here there is only suffering, not happiness; through sufferings, suffering is increased. There is no means there by which even a small happiness might arise.

Verse 7

मुच्यते च मृतस्तत्र मारकास्तत्र दुर्लभाः ॥ शब्दे स्पर्शे तथा रूपे रसे गन्धे तु पञ्चमे ॥

And even if one ‘dies’ there, release does not follow; agents of death there are hard to come by. (Suffering is experienced) through sound, touch, and form, and through taste and—fifth—smell.

Verse 8

न सुखं तत्र तस्यास्ति किञ्चिदेवात्र विद्यते ॥ शारीरैर्मानसैश्चैव दुःखैर्दुःखान्तगामिभिः ॥

There, for him, there is no happiness at all; only this is found here: sufferings—bodily and indeed mental—leading to the ‘end’ (culmination) of suffering.

Verse 9

आयसैः कण्टकैस्तीक्ष्णैस्तप्तैस्तप्तावृता मही ॥ अन्तरिक्षं खगानीकैर्अग्निजिह्वैः समावृतम् ॥

The ground is covered over with heated, sharp iron thorns; the sky-space is filled on all sides with flocks of birds whose tongues are like fire.

Verse 10

पातुकामश्च पानीयं राक्षसैर्नीयते सरः ॥ हंससारससंकिर्णं पद्मोत्पलविभूषितम् ॥

And one who desires to drink is led by rākṣasas to a lake—filled with swans and cranes, adorned with lotuses and water-lilies.

Verse 11

पातुकामश्च पानीयं सहसा तत्र धावति ॥ सलिलं प्रेक्षते चैव तत्र तप्ततरं तथा

Desiring to drink, he suddenly runs there for water; yet when he looks upon the water, he finds it there even more intensely heated.

Verse 12

ततः पक्वानि मांसानि राक्षसैः परिणीयते ॥ क्षारोदकेऽपि च तथा क्षिप्यतेऽत्र महाह्रदे

Then cooked pieces of flesh are carried about by the rākṣasas; and likewise he is cast here into a great lake of briny, alkaline water.

Verse 13

तत्र चैव ह्रदे नैका मत्स्याः खादन्ति सर्वशः ॥ ततः कालावसाने तु कथञ्चित्प्रपलायिनः

And there, in that very lake, many fish devour him on all sides. Then, at the end of a span of time, he becomes—somehow—one who escapes.

Verse 14

किञ्चिदन्तरमागम्य वेदनार्थाः पतन्ति हि ॥ यातनार्थं पुनस्तत्र मांसं चैवोपजायते

After a brief interval, they fall again, indeed for the sake of pain; and there, once more, flesh arises upon them for the purpose of renewed torment.

Verse 15

शिरस्येवोपविष्टस्य प्रस्थितस्य प्रधावतः ॥ तस्यार्त्तायामवस्थायां दुःखं भवति दारुणम्

As though someone were seated upon his head, as he sets out and runs, in that afflicted condition his suffering becomes dreadful.

Verse 16

करीषगर्त्तस्तत्रैव कुम्भीपाकः सुदारुणः ॥ पद्मपत्राकृतिस्तस्य पेशी तत्र शरीरजः

There itself is the pit of filth, and the exceedingly dreadful Kumbhīpāka. There, the flesh of his body takes on a lotus-leaf-like form.

Verse 17

पाटयन्ति सुमार्गेण राक्षसाः करपत्रिकाः ॥ निपीड्य दशनै रोषं भीमनादाः सुरोषिताः

Rākṣasas, bearing blades in their hands, cut them up in a deliberate manner; and, pressing with their teeth in fury, those terrifying-voiced beings are fiercely enraged.

Verse 18

असिपत्रवनं चात्र शृङ्गाटकवनं तथा ॥ तत्र शृङ्गाटकाश्चैव तप्तवालुकमिश्रिताः

Here too is the forest of sword-leaves, and likewise the forest of śṛṅgāṭakas; there, the śṛṅgāṭakas indeed are mixed with scorching sand.

Verse 19

श्यामाश्च शबलाश्चैव श्वानस्तेऽत्र दुरासदाः ॥ खादन्ति च सुसंरब्धाः सर्पवृश्चिकसन्निभैः

Here, those dogs—dark and mottled—are hard to ward off; and, highly enraged, they devour, resembling serpents and scorpions.

Verse 20

कण्टकैः प्रतिकूलैश्च तत्रान्या कूटशाल्मली ॥ कर्षन्ति तत्र चैवैनं यावदस्थ्यवशेषितः

And there is another there, the Kūṭaśālmalī, with thorns set against him; there they drag him indeed, until he is left with only bones remaining.

Verse 21

यद्दुःखं तस्य दुर्बुद्धेः प्रतिकूलं च तस्य यत् ॥ तत्तदोत्पद्यते शीघ्रं यातनार्थाय यत्नतः ॥

Whatever suffering belongs to that ill-intentioned person, and whatever is adverse to him—those very torments arise swiftly, with deliberate force, for the purpose of punishment.

Verse 22

शीतकामस्य वै चोष्णमुष्णकामस्य शीतलम् ॥ सुखकामस्य वै दुःखं सुखं नैवात्र विद्यते ॥

For one who longs for cold, there is heat; for one who longs for heat, there is cold. For one who longs for comfort, there is suffering—here, comfort is not found at all.

Verse 23

छिन्नाश्च शतधाप्येवं ह्यनिशं तैः सहस्रशः ॥ छिन्नाङ्गाः सर्वगात्रेषु सर्वमेव स विन्दति ॥

Thus, cut into a hundred parts—unceasingly, and by them in thousands—his limbs are severed across all his body; he experiences it all in full.

Verse 24

सलिलं च नदीं घोरां व्यालाकीर्णां भयानकाम् ॥ उत्तार्यन्ते च तां प्रेतां यां दृष्ट्वैव भयं भवेत् ॥

There is a dreadful river of waters, filled with serpentine creatures and terrifying; and the departed are made to cross that river—one which, merely upon seeing, fear would arise.

Verse 25

करम्भवालुका नाम शतयोजनमायता ॥ अग्निज्वालासमा घोरा यथा येन स गच्छति ॥

There is [a region] called Karambhavālukā, extending a hundred yojanas; dreadful, comparable to flames of fire—through which, and in what manner, he proceeds.

Verse 26

ततो वैतरणी नाम क्षारोदा तु महानदी ॥ योजनानि तु पञ्चाशदधस्तात्पञ्चयोजनम् ॥

Then comes the great river named Vaitaraṇī, whose waters are saline and caustic. It extends for fifty yojanas, and its depth below is five yojanas.

Verse 27

अगाधपङ्का वै तत्र चर्ममांसास्थिभेदनाः ॥ तत्र कर्कटका घोरा वज्रदंष्ट्रा विशन्ति ताम् ॥

There the mire is bottomless, tearing skin, flesh, and bone. There dreadful crabs with thunderbolt-like fangs enter into it and attack within that bog.

Verse 28

समुत्तीऱ्य तु कृच्छ्रेण तस्माद्योजनकर्दमात् ॥ वसन्त्यत्र धरे केचिच्छून्यागारे निराश्रये ॥

Having crossed with difficulty that mire extending for a yojana, some dwell there upon the ground—in an empty house, without refuge.

Verse 29

यत्र वै मूषिकगणा भक्षयन्ति ह्यनेकशः ॥ मूषकैर्जग्ध गात्रस्तु ह्यस्थिमात्रावशेषितः ॥

Where bands of mice repeatedly devour him in many ways; his body, eaten by the mice, is left as mere bone.

Verse 30

प्रभाते वायुना स्पृष्टः पुनर्मांसं स विन्दति ॥ शून्यागारप्रवेशात्तु गव्यूतेर्नातिदूरतः ॥

At dawn, touched by the wind, he again obtains flesh; and from the entrance of the empty house it is not far—at a distance of a gavyūti.

Verse 31

सहकारवनं नाम रौद्रा यत्र च पक्षिणः ॥ निस्त्वगस्थिस्तैः क्रियते निर्मांसश्चैव मानवः

There is a forest called Sahakāravana, terrifying, where birds (of punishment) are found; by them a human is made skinless and boneless, and indeed rendered without flesh.

Verse 32

संध्याभ्र इव चाभाति प्रदीप्तो नित्यमेव तु ॥ दशयोजनविस्तार्णा अधः शतसमायता

It shines like a twilight cloud, ever aflame; it extends ten yojanas in breadth, and downward it stretches for a hundred (yojanas).

Verse 33

यमचुल्लीति विख्याता गम्भीरा सा त्रियोजनम् ॥ नित्यं प्रज्वलिता सा तु नित्यं धूमान्धकारिता

Known as ‘Yama’s Furnace,’ it is deep to the measure of three yojanas; it is perpetually blazing, and perpetually made dark by smoke.

Verse 34

तत्र प्रेतसहस्राणि प्रयुतान्यर्बुदानि च ॥ प्रक्षिप्यन्ते त्वहोरात्रं राक्षसैर्यमकिङ्करैः

There, thousands of departed spirits—tens of thousands and even vast multitudes—are cast in day and night by rākṣasas, the attendants of Yama.

Verse 35

निःशिराजालकश्चैव निरक्षिश्रवणस्तथा ॥ वटवृक्षो नातिदूरे दक्षिणे तु त्रियोजनम्

And (there are beings) such as the ‘Headless-Jālaka’ and likewise the ‘Earless-and-Eyeless’; not far away, to the south by three yojanas, there is a banyan tree.

Verse 36

मासमेकं वसत्यन्यो तस्यां चुल्ल्यां परिभ्रमन् ॥ ततः शकुनिका नाम वसामेदोवहा नदी

Another dwells there for one month, wandering about in that furnace; then there is a river named Śakunikā, bearing fat and marrow.

Verse 37

एकैकं दुस्तरं घोरं यथापूर्वं यथाक्रमात् ॥ अनुभुङ्क्ते स कृच्छ्रेण दुष्कृती तीव्रवेदनाः

Each torment—hard to cross and dreadful—according to what came before and in due sequence, he undergoes with difficulty; the wrongdoer endures intense pains.

Verse 38

दश तत्र लताः शूलाः कुम्भीपाकास्त्रयोदश ॥ याति पापमहोरात्रं तस्मिन्नियमितेन तु

There are ten creeping-vine spears there, and thirteen stations of Kumbhīpāka; the sinner passes day and night in that place, constrained by regulation.

Verse 39

राक्षसैर्निरनुक्रोशैर्दुर्निरीक्ष्यैस्ततस्ततः ॥ अङ्गारेषु विधूमेषु शूलप्रोतस्तु पच्यते

By rākṣasas devoid of compassion, dreadful to behold, here and there, he is cooked upon smokeless embers, impaled on a spear.

Verse 40

शुष्कोदपाने धूमे च अधःशीर्षोऽवलम्बते ॥ ज्वाल्यते तीक्ष्णतैले तु कटाहे स तु पच्यते

In a dry well, amid smoke, he hangs head-down; and he is scorched in sharp, burning oil—indeed, in a cauldron he is cooked.

Verse 41

करीषगर्त्ते स पुनः पच्यते मेदवह्निना ॥ एकैकस्मिन्दशाहं च शूलादिषु स पच्यते

Again he is cooked in a pit of filth by a fire fed with fat; and, for ten days in each (station), he is cooked upon stakes and the like.

Verse 42

यातनाः सप्तकास्तस्य निष्क्रान्तस्य त्रियोजने ॥ यतो यमनदी नाम तप्तत्रपुजलोर्मिणी

Sevenfold are the torments for him who has departed—over a distance of three yojanas—up to the river called Yamanadī, whose waves are of water like molten tin.

Verse 43

समुत्तीर्य तु कृच्छ्रेण दह्यमानस्त्वचेतनः ॥ ततो मुहूर्त्तं विश्रान्तः किञ्चिदन्तरमागतः

Having crossed with great difficulty—burning and insensible—he then rests for a moment, and proceeds onward a short distance.

Verse 44

दीर्घिकां मोक्षते कान्तां शीतोदां शीतकाननाम् ॥ सर्वकामान्स लभते भगिनी सा यमस्य तु

He reaches a lovely long pool, with cool water and a cool grove; he obtains every desired comfort—yet she is (called) the ‘sister’ of Yama.

Verse 45

भक्ष्यं भोज्यं च सर्वैस्तु पापिभिस्तत्र लभ्यते ॥ स सर्वं विस्मरत्यत्र त्रिरात्रमुषितोऽपि सन्

There, food to chew and food to eat is obtained by all the sinners; having stayed there for three nights, he forgets everything in that place.

Verse 46

तत्र वर्षति पर्जन्यस्तत्र तप्तजलं सदा ॥ तत्र कृच्छ्रेण तरति अहोरात्रेण मानवः

There the rain-cloud pours down, and there the water is ever scalding; there a human crosses only with great difficulty, over the span of a day and a night.

Verse 47

शृङ्गारकवनं नाम तत्र पश्यन्ति शाद्वलम् ॥ नीलमक्षिकदंशैश्च सुव्याप्तं तद्वनं महत्

There they behold a tract of grassland in the great forest called Śṛṅgāraka-vana, wholly pervaded by the bites of blue flies.

Verse 48

यैस्तु स्पृष्टश्च दष्टश्च कृमिरूपश्च जायते ॥ प्रेतो वर्षति मांसासृगस्मात्कृच्छ्रात्तु निर्गतः

But touched and bitten by those (flies), he comes to assume the form of a worm; and the departed spirit, having emerged from that hardship, rains down flesh and blood.

Verse 49

ततोऽन्यल्लभते चैव यातनार्थं प्रयत्नतः ॥ ततः पश्यति पुत्रांस्तु महद्दुःखं सुदारुणम्

Then, through his own exertion, he undergoes yet another experience meant for torment; then he beholds his sons, and great suffering arises—exceedingly dreadful.

Verse 50

मातरं पितरं चैव पुत्रान्दारांस्तथा प्रियान् ॥ पुरस्ताद्बध्यमानं स क्रन्दमानमचेतनम्

Before him he sees his mother and father, his sons, his wife, and his beloved ones—bound in front of him, wailing aloud, and insensible.

Verse 51

हा त्राहि त्राहि पुत्रेति क्रन्दमानस्ततस्ततः ॥ लगुडैर्मुद्गरैर्दण्डैर्जानुभिर्वेणुभिस्तथा

Crying out again and again, “Ah! Save me, save me, my child!”, he wails here and there—struck with clubs, mallets, staffs, knees, and also with bamboo rods.

Verse 52

मुष्टिभिश्च कशाभिश्च व्यालैरङ्कगतैरपि ॥ तद्दृष्ट्वा तादृशं दुःखं ततो मोहं स गच्छति

And with fists and whips, and even with serpents clinging to his body—seeing such suffering, he then falls into bewilderment.

Verse 53

एवमेवात्मकर्माणि पर्यायेण पुनः पुनः ॥ प्राप्नुवन्तीह तेऽत्रैव नरा दुष्कृतकारिणः

Just so, their own deeds—cycle after cycle, again and again—are encountered here itself by those people who commit wrongdoing.

Verse 54

पातकानि च चत्वारि समाचारेण पञ्चमम् ॥ कृत्वा तानि नरा यान्ति तं देशं पापकािरणः

Having committed four sins—and a fifth by (corrupt) conduct—such people, doers of wrongdoing, go to that realm.

Verse 55

तदा वा स्थावरे तेषु जातस्य हि भवेन नरः ॥ क्रमशः स भवेत्प्रेतस्तदा पशुगणेष्वपि

Or then, having been born among those immobile beings, he becomes (again) human; in due sequence he becomes a preta, and then even among groups of animals.

Verse 56

षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि षष्टिवर्षशतानि च ॥ गतः स वसति प्रेतो नरके तु पुनःपुनः

For sixty thousand years, and likewise for sixty hundreds of years, he remains there as a preta—again and again in hell.

Verse 57

ततो निवृत्तकर्मा तु स्वेदजः सम्भवेत्पुनः ॥ स्वेदजानां ततो नित्यं सर्वसंसारचङ्क्रमात्

Then, when the former karmic activity has ceased, he is born again as a sweat-born being; thereafter, through constant roaming across the whole circuit of saṃsāra among sweat-born creatures…

Verse 58

ततश्च पक्षिणां योनिं सर्वां सन्तरते पुनः ॥ गयोनाु तु ततो गत्वा पुनर्मानुषतां व्रजेत्

And then he crosses again through every womb among birds; then, having gone to the womb of a cow, he again attains human status.

Verse 59

मानुषे शूद्रतां याति लब्ध्वा यदि तु तुष्यति ॥ ततो वैश्यत्वमागच्छेत्कर्मणा अनेन वेष्टितः

In human birth he goes to the state of a Śūdra; and if, having obtained it, he becomes content there, then he may come to the state of a Vaiśya—bound up by this karma.

Verse 60

वैश्यात्क्षत्रियतां याति तस्माच्च ब्राह्मणो भवेत् ॥ ब्राह्मणत्वमपि प्राप्तः पापकर्मा दुरात्मवान्

From being a Vaiśya he goes to the state of a Kṣatriya, and from that he may become a Brāhmaṇa. Even after attaining Brāhmaṇa-hood, a person of sinful deeds—one of wicked disposition—still remains bound to the consequences.

Verse 61

दुःशिक्षितेन मनसा ह्यात्मद्रोग्धा भवेत् तदा ॥ शरीरेण मानसिकं घोरं व्यसनैरुपपादितम् ॥

With a mind badly trained, one then becomes a betrayer of one’s own self; and a terrible suffering—both bodily and mental—is brought about through afflictions.

Verse 62

उपयुक्तो नरो जातः पूर्वकर्मभिरन्वितः ॥ ज्ञेयश्च ब्रह्महा कुष्ठी काकाक्षः काकतालुकः ॥

A person is born conditioned by former actions; one should understand that a slayer of a brāhmaṇa is (reborn) as a leper, with crow-like eyes, and with a crow-like palate/tongue.

Verse 63

सुरापः श्यावदन्तश्च पूतिगन्धश्च पापकृत् ॥ राजहा पितृहाचैव सुरापश्चापि यो भवेत् ॥

A drinker of intoxicants becomes one whose teeth are dark and who bears a foul odor—one who has committed sin. Likewise, whoever becomes a killer of a king, a killer of a father, or a drinker of intoxicants (is described in such marked terms).

Verse 64

सुवर्णहर्ता च नरो ब्रह्मघ्नेन समो हि सः ॥ क्वचिच्चात्र विरूपाणां नराणां पापकर्मिणाम् ॥

And a person who steals gold is indeed equal to a slayer of a brāhmaṇa. Here and there, among people who commit sin, there are those who are deformed (as a result).

Verse 65

यावद्भिः कर्मभिस्तैस्तैस्तेषु निर्याणवेश्मसु ॥ छिन्नभिन्नविशस्तानां रुधिरेण समन्ततः ॥

In those ‘houses of execution’ (places of torment), corresponding to the particular deeds performed, the blood of those who are cut, broken, and slaughtered spreads all around.

Verse 66

व्याप्तं महीतलं सर्वमापगाश्चापि निर्गताः ॥ अजस्रं क्लिश्यमानानां क्रन्दतां च सुदारुणम् ॥

The whole surface of the earth was pervaded, and even the rivers overflowed; unceasingly there arose a most dreadful sound of those who were tormented and crying out.

Verse 67

समुत्तस्थौ महानादो हाहाकारसमाकुलः ॥ बध्नतो विविधैर्बन्धैर्घातयन्तश्च दारुणम् ॥

A great uproar arose, filled with cries of “hā hā”; they bound them with various bonds and struck them with dreadful violence.

Verse 68

लौहयष्टिप्रहारैश्च आयुधैश्च सुदारुणैः ॥ छेदनैर्भेदनैश्चोग्रैः पीडनाभिश्च सर्वशः ॥

With blows from iron rods, and with exceedingly dreadful weapons; with fierce cutting and splitting, and with torments of every kind on every side.

Verse 69

श्रान्ताः कर्मकरा दूताः मोहेनायत्तचेतसः ॥ यदा श्रान्ताश्च खिन्नाश्च हन्तारः पापकर्मिणाम् ॥

The messengers—laboring functionaries, their minds constrained by delusion—grew weary; and when the slayers, the tormentors of the sinful, became tired and exhausted,

Verse 70

विज्ञापयेत्तदा दूताश्चित्रगुप्तं महौजसम् ॥

Then the messengers would report the matter to Citragupta, the greatly powerful.

Verse 71

अतीव च बुभुक्षात्र पिपासा चाप्यतीव हि ॥ उष्णमत्युष्णमेवात्र शीतलं चातिशीतलम् ॥

Here there is extreme hunger, and likewise extreme thirst; here heat is intensely hot, and cold is intensely cold.

Verse 72

दह्यते छिद्यते चैव विध्यते भिद्यते पथा ॥ पात्यते पीड्यते चैव कृष्यते च विशस्यते ॥

One is burned, cut, and also pierced; one is split along a path; one is thrown down and crushed; one is dragged and slaughtered.

Verse 73

उलूकाश्च धनुर्मात्रा वज्रजिह्वास्थिभेदनाः ॥ महाविषा महाक्रोधा दुर्विषह्याः सुदारुणाः ॥

And owls, of the measure of a bow, with thunderbolt-like tongues that shatter bones—highly venomous, greatly wrathful, hard to withstand, and exceedingly fierce.

Verse 74

चुल्लीकुक्षौ तु विश्रान्ता वेगिनी वहते तु सा ॥ तां समुत्तीऱ्य कृच्छ्रेण यातनाः सप्तकाः पुनः ॥

Having rested in the belly of the (river called) Cullī, that swift-flowing one carries (them onward). After crossing it with difficulty, the sevenfold torments occur again.

Verse 75

ततः शूलवहो नाम पर्वतः शतयोजनः ॥ निराश्रयः स सत्त्वानामेकपाषाण एव च ॥

Then there is a mountain named Śūlavaha, a hundred yojanas (in extent); it offers no refuge for beings, and it is made of a single mass of stone.

Verse 76

तदादिषु च सर्वेषु गुणान्तरपथं गतः ॥ यदा भवति स प्रेतस्तदा स्थावरतां व्रजेत् ॥

And in all those stages beginning with that, having entered a course of altered guṇas; when he becomes a preta, then he passes into the condition of an immobile being (a stationary state).