Bhagavatapurana 5.26: ṣaḍviṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

5.26.1

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/0 rājovāca
maharṣa etad vaicitryaṃ lokasya katham iti //

The king said: O great sage, why is there such diversity among living beings in this world?

1. The King said:— O great sage, whence is this diversity (of courses or the goals) for the world?

5.26.2

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/0 ṛṣir uvāca
tri-guṇatvāt kartuḥ śraddhayā karma-gatayaḥ pṛthag-vidhāḥ sarvā eva sarvasya tāratamyena bhavanti //
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athedānīṃ pratiṣiddha-lakṣaṇasyādharmasya tathaiva kartuḥ śraddhāyā vaisādṛśyāt karma-phalaṃ visadṛśaṃ bhavati yā hy anādy-avidyayā kṛta-kāmānāṃ tat-pariṇāma-lakṣaṇāḥ sṛtayaḥ sahasraśaḥ pravṛttās tāsāṃ prācuryeṇānuvarṇayiṣyāmaḥ //

The sage said:
Because of the three qualities of the performer and according to his faith, the paths of action are of distinct kinds; they all come about in graded differences for everyone.
Now, in the same way, on account of the diversity of the performer's faith, the fruit of adharma—which has the nature of the forbidden—is diverse. We shall describe in detail these paths numbering in the thousands, which arise from the desires formed through beginningless ignorance and are characterized by their transformations.

2. The sage said:— All the various courses or goals of Karma differ from one another according to the doer's faith or spirit which differs as affected by the three guṇas. All these are attained by every one (only) in due proportion to this or that guṇa influencing his faith.

3. Now then the fruit of Karma is different as the character of the unrighteous action is of the prohibited kind and as the faith or spirit of the doer varies. Those courses of hell, which in a thousand ways are ordained and result from their desires indulged under the force of Eternal Avidya, we shall at great length describe.

5.26.3

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/0 rājovāca
narakā nāma bhagavan kiṃ deśa-viśeṣā athavā bahis tri-lokyā āhosvid antarāla iti //

The king said:
O Lord, are the hells specific regions, or are they outside the three worlds, or in the intermediate space?

4. The king said:— O worshipful Sage, are these regions of Hell some particular parts (of this world)? Or are they hanging in the sky somewhere between Heaven and Earth?

5.26.4

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/0 ṛṣir uvāca
antarāla eva tri-jagatyās tu diśi dakṣiṇasyām adhastād bhūmer upariṣṭāc ca jalād yasyām agniṣvāttādayaḥ pitṛ-gaṇā diśi svānāṃ gotrāṇāṃ parameṇa samādhinā satyā evāśiṣa āśāsānā nivasanti //

The sage said:
They are indeed in the intermediate space of the three worlds, in the southern quarter, beneath the earth and above the waters, in which quarter the ancestors such as the Agniṣvāttas reside, wishing with supreme contemplation only true blessings upon their own lineages.

5. The sage said:— They are only in the sky between the three divisions of the Universe; they lie towards the south below the Earth and above water. And in this direction dwell the groups of Pitṛis, *viz.*, Agnishvatta and others in a state of intense contemplation, always invoking real blessings on their descendants and races.

5.26.5

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yatra ha vāva bhagavān pitṛ-rājo vaivasvataḥ sva-viṣayaṃ prāpiteṣu sva-puruṣair jantuṣu sampareteṣu yathā-karmāvadyaṃ doṣam evānullaṅghita-bhagavac-chāsanaḥ sagaṇo damaṃ dhārayati //

There indeed the lord Vaivasvata, king of the ancestors, together with his retinue, never transgressing the command of the Lord, executes punishment upon living beings who have died and been brought to his domain by his attendants, strictly according to the fault of their action.

6. Here indeed (dwells) the worshipful Vaivasvata, the divine king of Pitṛis with his retinue, and he never neglects or violates the commands of the Lord; and inflicts punishments on those according to their several action and sin, when they are after death brought to him by his messengers.

5.26.6

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tatra haike narakān eka-viṃśatiṃ gaṇayanti atha tāṃs te rājan nāma-rūpa-lakṣaṇato 'nukramiṣyāmas tāmisro 'ndhatāmisro rauravo mahārauravaḥ kumbhīpākaḥ kālasūtram asipatravanaṃ sūkaramukham andhakūpaḥ kṛmibhojanaḥ sandaṃśas taptasūrmir vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalī vaitaraṇī pūyodaḥ prāṇarodho viśasanaṃ lālābhakṣaḥ sārameyādanam avīcir ayaḥpānam iti kiñca kṣārakardamo rakṣogaṇa-bhojanaḥ śūlaproto dandaśūko 'vaṭa-nirodhanaḥ paryāvartanaḥ sūcīmukham ity aṣṭā-viṃśatir narakā vividha-yātanā-bhūmayaḥ //

There, some count twenty-one hells. Now, O King, we shall enumerate them by name, form, and characteristics: Tāmisra, Andhatāmisra, Raurava, Mahāraurava, Kumbhīpāka, Kālasūtra, Asipatravana, Sūkaramukha, Andhakūpa, Kṛmibhojana, Sandaṃśa, Taptasūrmi, Vajrakaṇṭakaśālmalī, Vaitaraṇī, Pūyoda, Prāṇarodha, Viśasana, Lālābhakṣa, Sārameyādana, Avīci, and Ayaḥpāna. Moreover: Kṣārakardama, Rakṣogaṇabhojana, Śūlaprota, Dandaśūka, Avaṭanirodhana, Paryāvartana, and Sūcīmukha—thus there are twenty-eight hells, realms of various torments.

7. And there indeed some reckon twenty-one regions of hell and we shall for thy sake define them by name, form and characte-

ristics, to wit, Tamisra etc., along with another seven viz., Ksharakadbhih &c., (some reckon them as) twenty-eight; and they are the places of various kinds of hellish sufferings (for the sinful).

5.26.7

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tatra yas tu para-vittāpatya-kalatrāṇy apaharati sa hi kāla-pāśa-baddho yama-puruṣair ati-bhayānakais tāmisre narake balān nipātyate anaśanānudapāna-daṇḍa-tāḍana-santarjanādibhir yātanābhir yātyamāno jantur yatra kaśmalam āsādita ekadaiva mūrcchām upayāti tāmisra-prāye //

There, he who steals the wealth, children, or wives of others is bound by the noose of Time and forcefully cast down by the terrifying servants of Yama into the Tāmisra hell. There, tortured by torments such as deprivation of food and water, beatings with rods, and intimidation, the living being reaches bewilderment and repeatedly falls into a faint in that gloom-filled place.

8. There, he who here lays hands on another's wealth, children, and wife is bound with mortal cords and violently hurled into the dark hell by the fierce men of Yama; and in the hell of Utter Darkness, the being is put to it in various courses of torments; he has no food and drink; he is beaten with clubs, by holding out threats and being brought to a state of weary affliction, suddenly drops down in a swoon.

5.26.8

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evam evāndhatāmisre yas tu vañcayitvā puruṣaṃ dārādīn upayuṅkte yatra śarīrī nipātyamāno yātanā-stho vedanayā naṣṭa-matir naṣṭa-dṛṣṭiś ca bhavati yathā vanaspatir vṛścyamāna-mūlas tasmād andhatāmisraṃ tam upadiśanti //

In this very way, into Andhatāmisra falls the person who, having deceived someone, enjoys his wife and the like. There, cast down and undergoing torture, the embodied being loses his reason and loses his sight due to the pain, like a tree whose roots are being severed; therefore they call it Andhatāmisra.

9. In the region of Hell called Andhatamisra (Blinding darkness) that person also is treated in the same manner who deceives the husband and appropriates to himself his wife and other property; that person is cast down into this hell to suffer torments; under those sufferings he loses his understanding and sense (through excessive pain) and also his sight; he suffers like a tree whose roots are cut. Therefore they call it hell of *Andhatamisra*.

5.26.9

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yas tv iha vā etad aham iti mamedam iti bhūta-droheṇa kevalaṃ sva-kuṭumbam evānudinaṃ prapuṣṇāti sa tad iha vihāya svayam eva tad-aśubhena raurave nipatati //

He who in this world, thinking 'I am this' and 'this is mine', sustains solely his own family day by day by inflicting harm upon living beings, leaves that [family] behind here and, by that very unwholesome deed, falls into Raurava alone.

10. Further he who in this world identifies his self with this (transient decaying body) and regards this (wealth) as his own and thus by deceiving other beings adds from day to day to the comforts of his own house-hold — he himself loses (all) this and by force of that sin falls into the hell called *Raurava*.

5.26.10

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ye tv iha yathaivāmunā vihiṃsitā jantavaḥ paratra yama-yātanām upagataṃ ta eva ruravo bhūtvā tathā tam eva vihiṃsanti tasmād rauravam ity āhū rurur iti sarpād ati-krūra-sattvasyāpadeśaḥ //

Those beings who were harmed by him in this world become rurus in the next world and inflict harm on him in the same manner when he has come under the torments of Yama; therefore they call it Raurava. 'Ruru' is a designation for a creature more cruel than a serpent.

11. The very beings who are here by any one subjected to torments and afflictions in any particular manner become Rurus and torment him in the same manner when he is down there to suffer Yama's punishment. Hence they call it Raurava. (Ruru is the name of a creature (worm) very much more cruel than the serpent).

5.26.11

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evam eva mahārauravo yatra nipatitaṃ puruṣaṃ kravyādā nāma ruravas taṃ kravyeṇa ghātayanti yaḥ kevalaṃ dehambharaḥ //

In this very way is Mahāraurava, where carnivorous beings named rurus kill with flesh that man who was cast down there, who was merely a nourisher of his own body.

12. Of similar description is Maharaurava, where Rurus called Kravyadis (the carnivorous) do for the sake of his flesh kill him who, in life being given to maintaining his own body, falls into it.

5.26.12

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yas tv iha vā ugraḥ paśūn pakṣiṇo vā prāṇata uparandhayati tam apakaruṇaṃ puruṣādair api vigarhitam amutra yamānucarāḥ kumbhīpāke tapta-taile uparandhayanti //

He who in this world, being cruel, cooks animals or birds while they are alive—that unmerciful man, despised even by man-eaters, the attendants of Yama cook in boiling oil in Kumbhīpāka in the next world.

13. In the hell called Kumbheepaka, Yama's servants fry in boiling oil that cruel and merciless person who (kills and) cooks living animals, birds and beasts and is condemned even by Cannibals.

5.26.13

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yas tv iha brahma-dhruk sa kālasūtra-saṃjñake narake ayuta-yojana-parimaṇḍale tāmramaye tapta-khale upary-adhastād agny-arkābhyām ati-tapyamāne 'bhiniveśitaḥ kṣut-pipāsābhyāṃ ca dahyamānāntar-bahiḥ-śarīra āste śete ceṣṭate 'vatiṣṭhati paridhāvati ca yāvanti paśu-romāṇi tāvad varṣa-sahasrāṇi //

He who in this world harms a brāhmaṇa is placed in the hell named Kālasūtra, which is ten thousand yojanas in circumference, made of copper, a heated surface severely scorched from above and below by fire and the sun; burning with hunger and thirst inside and outside his body, he sits, lies down, wriggles, stands, and runs around for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the animal.

14. He who is treacherous to Pitris, men of wisdom and Brahmins (is thrown into) a hell called Kalasutra and placed on the surface of burning copper, tenthousand yojanas in extent above and constantly heated by the fire below and by the Sun above, with his body in and out in a burning state on account of hunger and thirst, he has to sit, lie down, stand or run about for as many thousand years as there are blades of hair on the body of a cow.

5.26.14

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yas tv iha vai nija-veda-pathād anāpady apagataḥ pākhaṇḍaṃ copagatas tam asi-patravanaṃ praveśya kaśayā praharanti tatra hāsāv itas tato dhāvamāna ubhayato dhārais tāla-vanāsi-patraiś chidyamāna-sarvāṅgo hā hato 'smīti paramayā vedanayā mūrcchitaḥ pade pade nipatati sva-dharmahā pākhaṇḍānugataṃ phalaṃ bhuṅkte //

He who in this world, without being in distress, abandons his own Vedic path and takes to heresy—making him enter Asipatravana, they strike him with a whip. Running here and there, his entire body sliced by the sword-like leaves of the palmyra grove with double edges, crying 'Alas, I am ruined!', he faints from supreme pain and falls at every step; the destroyer of his own dharma experiences the fruit conforming to heresy.

15. Into the forest of Asipatra Hell Yama's servants send him and with whips thrash him who, when not in a critical condition goes astray from his own Vedic path and further wilfully embraces the Pakhanda faith; there, O pitiable sight! indeed he runs this way and that way and has every part of his body torn up in the woods of Asipatra palm by its leaves sharp at both the edges; when he cries out "Ah, I am undone" in unspeakable pains every now and then he falls down in a swoon. Thus he who violates his own righteous course reaps the consequences that await the Pakhandas.

5.26.15

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yas tv iha vai rājā rāja-puruṣo vā adaṇḍye daṇḍaṃ praṇayati brāhmaṇe vā śarīra-daṇḍaṃ sa pāpīyān narake 'mutra sūkaramukhe nipatati tatrātibalair viniṣpiṣyamāṇāvayavo yathaivehekṣukhaṇḍa ārta-svareṇa svanayan kvacin mūrcchitaḥ kaśmalam upagato yathaivehā-dṛṣṭa-doṣā uparuddhāḥ //

A king or a king's official who in this world inflicts punishment upon one who is not to be punished, or corporal punishment upon a brāhmaṇa—that most sinful man falls in the other world into the Sūkaramukha hell. There, his limbs being crushed by very powerful beings just like sugarcane here, wailing in an agonized voice, he sometimes faints and falls into bewilderment, just as innocent people here are imprisoned.

16. He who being a king inflicts punishment on the innocent, or corporal punishmnnt on a Brahmin—he, that very sinful person, falls into the hell called Sukaramukha. There with every one of his limbs being crushed like pieces of sugarcane by very powerful hands he shrieks in distress and now swoons away under overpowering pain and now reduced to a wretched plight like those who are bound and consigned to prison-house, though no fault is proved against them.

5.26.16

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yas tv iha vai bhūtānām īśvaropakalpita-vṛttīnām avivikta-para-vyathānāṃ svayaṃ puruṣopakalpita-vṛttir vivikta-para-vyatho vyathām ācarati sa paratrāndhakūpe tad-abhidroheṇa nipatati tatra hāsau tair jantubhiḥ paśu-mṛga-pakṣi-sarīsṛpair maśaka-yūkā-matkuṇa-makṣikādibhir ye ke cābhidrugdhās taiḥ sarvato 'bhidruhyamāṇas tamasi vihata-nidrā-nirvṛtir alabdhāvasthānaḥ parikrāmati yathā kuśarīre jīvaḥ //

He who in this world, having a livelihood devised by humans and possessing awareness of others' pain, inflicts pain upon living beings whose livelihood is ordained by the Lord and who do not possess awareness of others' pain, falls in the other world into Andhakūpa because of that hostility. There, being attacked on all sides in the darkness by those very creatures—beasts, wild animals, birds, reptiles, mosquitoes, lice, bedbugs, flies, and whatever else was harmed by him—his rest and sleep shattered, finding no stable place, he wanders around like an embodied soul in a wretched body.

17. Whosoever in this world as a Brahmin or some other provided with a course of life to be followed with the discretion capable of feeling for another's sufferings causes pain to those beings who have only the means of living appointed by God but not the power of feeling for other's sufferings, falls into the hell called Andhakupa for having wronged these. There indeed that person is tormented on all sides in darkness by those beings, beasts, deer, birds, serpents and others and all such as are wronged here; thus deprived of sleep and rest, unable to stand anywhere, he wanders about like the Jiva that has fallen into a detestable body.

5.26.17

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yas tv iha vā asaṃvibhajyāśnāti yat kiñcanopanatam anirmita-pañca-yajño vāyasa-saṃstutaḥ sa paratra kṛmibhojane narakādhame nipatati tatra śata-sahasra-yojane kṛmi-kuṇḍe kṛmi-bhūtaḥ svayaṃ kṛmibhir eva bhakṣyamāṇaḥ kṛmi-bhojano yāvat tad aprattāprahūtādo 'nirveśam ātmānaṃ yātayate //

He who in this world eats whatever has come to him without sharing, performing no five daily sacrifices and praised [only] by crows, falls in the other world into Kṛmibhojana, the lowest of hells. There, in a worm-pit of a hundred thousand yojanas, having become a worm himself and being eaten by worms while eating worms, that eater of food unoffered and ungiven tortures himself until he has atoned for it.

18. Whoever here eats without sharing with other creatures what he gets and does not perform the five yajnas and hence fit to be compared with the crow, falls there into a most terrific hell where his food is worms; and there in a pit of worms of hundred thousand Yojanas in extent he is himself in the form of a worm being prayed upon by worms, continues to live on worms till he (i. e., he who ate his earning without giving to others or offering to the gods) subjects himself to the hellish sufferings with no other course of expiation for as many years as there are Yojanas of this region.

5.26.18

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yas tv iha vai steyena balād vā hiraṇya-ratnādīni brāhmaṇasya vāpaharaty anyasya vānāpadi puruṣas tam amutra rājan yama-puruṣā ayasmayair agni-piṇḍaiḥ sandaṃśais tvaci niṣkuṣanti //

A man who in this world, without being in distress, takes away gold, jewels, and the like from a brāhmaṇa or anyone else by theft or by force—him, O King, the servants of Yama scrape on his skin with tongs that are fiery balls of iron.

19. Whoever in this world when he is not in engrossing calamity either by theft or by force robs a Brahmin or any other of his gold, jewels and other things, has his body, (his skin) pinched by Yama's officers with burning balls of iron and tongs.

5.26.19

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yas tv iha vā agamyāṃ striyam agamyaṃ vā puruṣaṃ yoṣid abhigacchati tāv amutra kaśayā tāḍayantas tigmayā sūrmyā lohamayyā puruṣam āliṅgayanti striyaṃ ca puruṣa-rūpayā sūrmyā //

He who in this world approaches an inaccessible woman, or a woman who approaches an inaccessible man—the two of them, being struck with a whip in the other world, they cause the man to embrace a red-hot female effigy made of iron, and the woman an effigy having the form of a man.

20. Whoever in this world, man or woman, abuses her or him that is not fit to be touched at all is thrashed by Yama's men with whips and forced to embrace a burning image of iron like unto the woman or the man.

5.26.20

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yas tv iha vai sarvābhigamas tam amutra niraye vartamānaṃ vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalīm āropya niṣkarṣanti //

He who in this world engages in indiscriminate sexual intercourse is taken to hell in the next world, where [Yama's servants] force him to climb a silk-cotton tree with adamantine thorns and then drag him down.

21. Whoever in this world approaches (under the force of sexual passion) all kinds of beings, is placed by men on a *Salmali* studded with adamantine thorns and is dragged through the region of hell.

5.26.21

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ye tv iha vai rājanyā rāja-puruṣā vā apākhaṇḍā dharma-setūn bhindanti te samparetya vaitaraṇyāṃ nipatanti bhinna-maryādās tasyāṃ niraya-parikhā-bhūtāyāṃ nadyāṃ yādo-gaṇair itas tato bhakṣyamāṇā ātmanā na viyujyamānāś cāsubhir uhyamānāḥ svāghena karma-pākam anusmaranto viṇ-mūtra-pūya-śoṇita-keśa-nakhāsthi-medo-māṃsa-vasā-vāhinyām upatapyante //

Those royalty or royal officials in this world who, though not apostates, breach the dams of dharma, fall at death into the Vaitaraṇī, having transgressed boundaries. In that river, which serves as the moat of hell, bitten on every side by aquatic monsters yet never separated from life by their vital breaths, swept along by the currents, recalling the fruitions of their own sinful deeds, they are tormented in that stream bearing feces, urine, pus, blood, hair, nails, bones, marrow, flesh, and fat.

22. Those who in this world, kings or kings' employees, other than Pakhandas, (*i.e.*, born of Aryan race) transgress the limits of righteousness do fall into *Vaitarani* after their death; these offenders of law and order are, in this river which forms the moat round the regions of hell, being bitten by aquatic monsters but are not separated from the body and are on the other hand supported by the vital breaths to be ever conscious of the consequence of their karma, *i. e.*, their own sin; they are put to torment in the river which is flooded with refuse, urine, puss, blood, hair, nails, bones, marrow, flesh and fat.

5.26.22

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ye tv iha vai vṛṣalī-patayo naṣṭa-śaucācāra-niyamās tyakta-lajjāḥ paśu-caryāṃ caranti te cāpi pretya pūya-viṇ-mūtra-śleṣma-malā-pūrṇārṇave nipatanti tad evātibībhatsitam aśnanti //

Those who in this world are husbands of low-caste women, who have abandoned purity, good conduct, and religious rules, and casting aside all shame behave like beasts, fall after death into an ocean filled with pus, feces, urine, phlegm, and filth, and eat that exceedingly revolting substance.

23. Those who (born of a higher caste) choose here to be husbands of unchaste women (of the lowest order) neglect all pious habits, all attention to cleanlines and self-discipline and like brutes lead a life of shamelessness, fall after death into a pit of hell, a sea of puss, refuse, urine, phlegm, and dirt and swallow the same most detestable things.

5.26.23

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ye tv iha vai śva-gardabha-patayo brāhmaṇādayo mṛgayā vihārā atīrthe ca mṛgān nighnanti tān api samparetān lakṣya-bhūtān yama-puruṣā iṣubhir vidhyanti //

Those who in this world keep packs of dogs and donkeys, whether brāhmaṇas or others, and roaming about on hunts kill deer unlawfully, are themselves made into targets after death and pierced with arrows by Yama's servants.

24. Those Brahmins and others who behave like husbands of bitches and asses find delight in chase and kill animals in violation of sastra are after death made the target and pierced with the arrows of Yama's servants.

5.26.24

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ye tv iha vai dāmbhikā dambha-yajñeṣu paśūn viśasanti tān amuṣmin loke vaiśase narake patitān niraya-patayo yātayitvā viśasanti //

Those hypocrites who in this world slaughter animals in fraudulent sacrifices are cast into the hell named Vaiśasa in that other world, where the lords of hell torment them and then slaughter them.

25. When hypocrites who slay animals in their hypocritical sacrifices fall into the hell of slaughter-house, Yama’s men put them to torment by cutting them to pieces.

5.26.25

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yas tv iha vai savarṇāṃ bhāryāṃ dvijo retaḥ pāyayati kāma-mohitas taṃ pāpa-kṛtam amutra retaḥ-kulyāyāṃ pātayitvā retaḥ sampāyayanti //

A twice-born man who in this world, deluded by lust, forces his wife of the same caste to drink his semen, is cast into a canal of semen in the next world, and the [hell-guards] force that sinner to drink semen.

26. That sinful Dwija (twice-born) who deluded by passion causes here his wife born of the same caste as himself to drink his semen is hurled by Yama’s men into a stream of semen and he is made to drink of it.

5.26.26

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ye tv iha vai dasyavo 'gnidā garadā grāmān sārthān vā vilumpanti rājāno rāja-bhaṭā vā tāṃś cāpi hi paretya yamadūtā vajra-daṃṣṭrāḥ śvānaḥ sapta-śatāni viṃśatiś ca sarabhasaṃ khādanti //

Those robbers, incendiaries, poisoners, kings, or royal soldiers who in this world pillage villages or merchant caravans are, after death, torn to pieces and furiously devoured by seven hundred and twenty adamantine-toothed dogs of the messengers of Yama.

27. Those who lay their hands on other’s property or set it on fire or administer poison to others or plunder villages and caravans, be they kings or kings’ employees—they fall after death into a hell where they are voraciously munched by seven hundred and twenty hounds, messengers of Yama, with their adamantine teeth.

5.26.27

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yas tv iha vā anṛtaṃ vadati sākṣye dravya-vinimaye dāne vā kathañcit sa vai pretya narake 'vīcimaty adhaḥ-śirā niravakāśe yojana-śatocchrāyād giri-mūrdhnaḥ sampātyate yatra jalam iva sthalam aśma-pṛṣṭham avabhāsate tad avīcimat tilaśo viśīryamāṇa-śarīro na mriyamāṇaḥ punar āropito nipatati //

He who in this world speaks falsehood in bearing witness, in trading goods, or in making a gift, is after death thrown headlong from the peak of a mountain a hundred yojanas high into the hell called Avīcimat, where there is no foothold and where a surface of stone appears like water; his body is shattered into pieces like sesame seeds, but not dying, he is repeatedly raised up and cast down again.

28. Whoever utters falsehood here in giving evidence or in making gifts in any manner falls after death into a Hell called Avichimat where there is no support to stand upon. There he is hurled headlong from the summit of a hill hundred yojanas in height. In this hell even the hard stony surface seems to be a sheet of water and hence it is so called (for there are no waves there); though his body is shattered to pieces he does not die, and he is repeatedly lifted up to the top and hurled down.

5.26.28

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yas tv iha vai vipro rājanyo vaiśyo vā soma-pīthas tat-kalatraṃ vā surāṃ vrata-stho 'pi vā pibati pramādatas teṣāṃ nirayaṃ nītānām urasi padākramyāsye vahninā dravamāṇaṃ kārṣṇāyasaṃ niṣiñcanti //

If a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, or vaiśya who has drunk soma, or his wife, or anyone under a religious vow, drinks liquor through heedlessness, they are led to hell in the next life, where [Yama's servants] step upon their chests and pour molten black iron into their mouths with fire.

29. If a Brahmin, a Kshatriya or a Vaisya who has already drunk Soma, or his wife should while observing a vow drink wine through any mistake, Yama’s men press their bosom with their foot when they fall into hell and pour molten iron into their mouth.

5.26.29

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atha ca yas tv iha vā ātma-sambhāvanena svayam adhamo janma-tapo-vidyācāra-varṇāśramavato varīyaso na bahu manyeta sa mṛtaka eva mṛtvā kṣārakardame niraye 'vāk-śirā nipātito durantā yātanā hy aśnute //

Furthermore, he who in this world, being base himself, conceitedly fails to honor his superiors who possess birth, austerity, learning, conduct, and correct caste and stage of life, is indeed a living corpse; upon dying, he is cast head downwards into the hell called Kṣārakardama, where he suffers endless torment.

30. Again he who being the worst creature flatters himself as possessed of high worth and does not duly honour those that are really great by birth, by learning, by conduct, by caste and order of life, is truly a dead man (while alive); and after death he is thrown headforemost into a hell of brinish mire to undergo endless torments.

5.26.30

_*
ye tv iha vai puruṣāḥ puruṣa-medhena yajante yāś ca striyo nṛ-paśūn khādanti tāṃś ca te paśava iva nihatā yama-sadane yātayanto rakṣo-gaṇāḥ saunikā iva svadhitināvadāyāsṛk pibanti nṛtyanti ca gāyanti ca hṛṣyamāṇā yatheha puruṣādāḥ //

Those men who in this world sacrifice human beings in human sacrifices, and those women who eat human flesh, are slaughtered in Yama's abode like animals by the hosts of rākṣasas; who, tormenting them like butchers, carve off [their flesh] with an axe, drink their blood, and dance and sing rejoicing, just as cannibals do here.

31. In the case of those men who worship here (the gods) by offering human victims and those women who devour the same the human beings sacrificed here like animals become troops of Rakhasas engaged in administering torments in hell and like soldiers in war cut their slayers into slices, drink their blood, dance and sing in merriment even as cannibals do here.

5.26.31

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ye tv iha vā anāgaso 'raṇye grāme vā vaiśrambhakair upasṛtān upaviśrambhayya jijīviṣūn śūla-sūtrādiṣūpaprotān krīḍanakatayā yātayanti te 'pi ca pretya yama-yātanāsu śūlādiṣu protātmānaḥ kṣut-tṛḍbhyāṃ cābhihatāḥ kaṅka-vaṭādibhiś cetas tatas tigma-tuṇḍair āhanyamānā ātma-śamalaṃ smaranti //

Those who in this world torment innocent creatures that wish to live, having lured them by trust in the forest or in a village, and impaling them on spikes and threads treat them as toys—they too, after death, are impaled on spikes and the like in the torments of Yama; afflicted by hunger and thirst, and struck on all sides by herons, vultures, and other sharp-beaked birds, they remember the sins they committed.

32. Those who draw to them by means of allurements the innocent people in the woods or in the village, make them further confide in them, pillorise or keep fast bound with ropes or other means of restraint the poor creatures that have sought them for life and torment them as if they were their toys — those wicked souls suffer in hell after death similarly pilloried and, treated with various torments ordered by Yama become distressed with hunger and thirst and are on every side assailed by Kanka, Vata and other birds of prey with their sharp beaks; now they recollect their sins.

5.26.32

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ye tv iha vai bhūtāny udvejayanti narā ulbaṇa-svabhāvā yathā dandaśūkās te 'pi pretya narake dandaśūkākhye nipatanti yatra nṛpa dandaśūkāḥ pañca-mukhāḥ sapta-mukhā upasṛtya grasanti yathā bileśayān //

Those humans of savage nature who in this world terrify living beings like serpents, fall after death into the hell named Dandaśūka, where, O King, five-headed and seven-headed serpents approach and swallow them, just as [serpents swallow] mice in their holes.

33. Those who here, like snakes are cruel by nature and terrify other beings fall when they die into a hell called Dandasuka, where, O king, snakes of five or seven hoods attack them and devour them like rats.

5.26.33

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ye tv iha vā andhāvaṭa-kusūla-guhādiṣu bhūtāni nirundhanti tathāmutra teṣv evopaveśya sagareṇa vahninā dhūmena nirundhanti //

Those who in this world confine living beings in dark pits, grain bins, and caves, are in like manner confined in those very places in the next world by blazing fire and poisonous smoke.

34. Those who in this world confine beings in dark holes, granaries and houses, are by Yama's men in the other world put into similar places and shut up in an atmosphere of fire and smoke.

5.26.34

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yas tv iha vā atithīn abhyāgatān vā gṛha-patir asakṛd upagata-manyur didhakṣur iva pāpena cakṣuṣā nirīkṣate tasya cāpi niraye pāpa-dṛṣṭer akṣiṇī vajra-tuṇḍā gṛdhrāḥ kaṅka-kāka-vaṭādayaḥ prasahyoru-balād utpāṭayanti //

A householder who in this world repeatedly glares with an evil eye at guests or visitors as if wishing to burn them with rising anger—in hell, the eyes of that evil-eyed person are violently gouged out with great force by adamantine-beaked vultures, herons, crows, and owls.

35. Vultures with bills hard like adamantine rock, as well as other birds of the kind violently pluck out the eyes of that sinful house-holder who in this world frequently gets angry and looks upon the guests at his door with cruel eyes as if he would burn them.

5.26.35

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yas tv iha vā āḍhyābhimatir ahaṅkṛtis tiryak-prekṣaṇaḥ sarvato 'bhiviśaṅkī artha-vyaya-nāśa-cintayā pariśuṣyamāṇa-hṛdaya-vadano nirvṛtim anavagato graha ivārtham abhirakṣati sa cāpi pretya tad-utpādanotkarṣaṇa-saṃrakṣaṇa-śamala-grahaḥ sūcīmukhe narake nipatati yatra ha vitta-grahaṃ pāpa-puruṣaṃ dharmarāja-puruṣā vāyakā iva sarvato 'ṅgeṣu sūtraiḥ parivayanti //

He who in this world is proud of his wealth, arrogant, looking askance at others, suspicious of everything, his face and heart withered by anxiety over the expense and loss of his wealth, knowing no happiness, and guarding his money like an evil spirit—he, possessed by the sin of acquiring, increasing, and protecting that [wealth], falls after death into the hell named Sūcīmukha, where the agents of the King of Dharma, like weavers, stitch that sinful man, seized by greed for wealth, with threads all over his limbs.

36. That person who in this world proud of his wealth and haughtily looks askance (at things), who suspects all as depriving him of his money and who in his anxiety about the decay and loss of his fortune remains with his heart and face parched up and knows no ease of heart and like a devil keeps watch over his treasure becomes transformed into an ugly devil of producing, extorting and watching money and falls into a hell called *Suchimukha* where the servants of Dharma Raja bind, like weavers, with threads all over the sinful person that has been the demon of wealth.

5.26.36

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evaṃ-vidhā narakā yamālaye santi śataśaḥ sahasraśas teṣu sarveṣu ca sarva evādharma-vartino ye kecid ihoditā anuditāś cāvani-pate paryāyeṇa viśanti tathaiva dharmānuvartina itaratra iha tu punar-bhave ta ubhaya-śeṣābhyāṃ niviśanti //

Such hells exist by hundreds and thousands in the realm of Yama. Into all of them, O ruler of the earth, all those who follow unrighteousness—both those mentioned here and those not mentioned—enter in turn; just so do those who follow dharma enter the other realms; and then, in their rebirth here, they enter according to the remainder of both [kinds of karma].

37. There are hundreds and thousands of such regions of hell in the sphere of Yama; O king, all those who though described here or not are firm in unrighteous ways enter those regions of hell in their turn. On the other hand those that adhere to righteous courses dwell in the regions of Swarga. Both these return thence with the remnants of both their merit and demerit to be born again on this earth.

5.26.37

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nivṛtti-lakṣaṇa-mārga ādāv eva vyākhyātaḥ etāvān evāṇḍa-kośo yaś caturdaśadhā purāṇeṣu vikalpita upagīyate yat tad bhagavato nārāyaṇasya sākṣān mahā-puruṣasya sthaviṣṭhaṃ rūpam ātmamāyā-guṇamayam anuvarṇitam ādṛtaḥ paṭhati śṛṇoti śrāvayati sa upageyaṃ bhagavataḥ paramātmano 'grāhyam api śraddhā-bhakti-viśuddha-buddhir veda //

The path characterized by cessation has already been explained at the very beginning. Such is the cosmic egg, which is described and sung of in fourteen divisions in the Purāṇas; he who reverently reads, hears, or recites this, the grossest form of the Lord Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Person Himself, composed of the qualities of His own creative power, understands with an intellect purified by faith and devotion that which is fit to be sung of the Lord, the Supreme Self, though beyond ordinary grasp.

38. The course marked off as Nivritti was described in detail at the very outset. Only of this extent is the egg of the Universe. It is spoken of in the Puranas as divided into fourteen regions. It is the gross form constituted of the qualities of Maya of Atman and it is the gross form of the glorious Supreme Being Narayana. He who full of faith and devotion and possessed of pure understanding earnestly reads, listens to or gets others to listen to, this description attains the power of knowing the praise-worthy attributes of Paramatman, though otherwise beyond the range of thought.

5.26.38

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śrutvā sthūlaṃ tathā sūkṣmaṃ rūpaṃ bhagavato yatiḥ /
sthūle nirjitam ātmānaṃ śanaiḥ sūkṣmaṃ dhiyā nayed iti //

Having heard of the gross as well as the subtle form of the Lord, an ascetic / should gradually lead the mind, once conquered in the gross [form], to the subtle.

39. Having controlled the mind and the senses, he should study what the gross as well as the subtle form of the Lord is; when he has succeeded in concentrating the mind on the gross form, he may by force of understanding slowly lead the mind to (settle on) the subtle form.

5.26.38.p1

bhū-dvīpa-varṣa-sarid-adri-nabhaḥ-samudra- $ pātāla-diṅ-naraka-bhāgaṇa-loka-saṃsthā &

The arrangement of the earth, continents, realms, rivers, mountains, sky, oceans, / subterranean regions, directions, hells, stellar spheres, and worlds—

40. O King, I have described to thee the arrangement of the Universe with reference to the earth and its divisions as Dwipas and Varshas, the rivers, mountains, the sky, the oceans, the nether regions, the cardinal points, Hell, and the numerous luminaries; and this is the wonderful gross form or body of the Supreme Being and the one abode of all classes of jivas.

5.26.39

gītā mayā tava nṛpādbhutam īśvarasya % sthūlaṃ vapuḥ sakala-jīva-nikāya-dhāma //

this wondrous, gross form of the Lord, the abode of all living beings, / has been sung to you by me, O King.