Garudapurana 2.33

Śrī Garuḍa said:
The characteristics of the birth of a creature have been told to me, your son.
How large is the world of Yama within the three worlds, including moving and stationary beings?
Tell me its extent, and how long the road is said to be.

Through what sins committed, O Lord, or through what auspicious deed,
do men go there? Tell me in detail.

The Blessed Lord said:
By measure, eighty-six thousand yojanas
is the path to the realm of Yama from the human world.

It is a great highway, heated like forged copper, blazing and impassable;
there go the most sinful men of deluded minds.

Indeed, there are very sharp thorns of various dreadful appearances;
by them the ground of sand is covered, and likewise with fierce fire.

There is no shade of trees there where a man might rest,
seized by the nooses of death and by the terrible deeds he has committed.

On that road there is no food or anything by which he might nourish his vital breaths;
no water is seen there by which his thirst might be quenched.

Afflicted by hunger and thirst, he proceeds along the great highway;
somewhere he shivers with cold on the extremely difficult path of Yama.

As one's sin was, so is his path;
utterly wretched, miserable, and deluded, covered in sorrows, they traverse it.

Some weep dreadfully, and some speak of malice,
being repeatedly boiled on account of the faults born of their own actions.

Such is that path, known to be dreadful, O bird;
men who are free from craving in this world traverse it in comfort.

Whatever gifts have been given on earth by men,
those very gifts appear before them on the road in the realm of Yama.

The cremation, śrāddha, and handfuls of water do not reach sinners;
they wander having become wind, those base evil-doers.

Such a fierce path has been described to you, O observant one;
and I will tell you again about the state of the path of Yama.

Between the south and the southwest lies the city of Vaivasvata,
entirely made of diamond, divine, and impenetrable to gods and asuras.

It is four-sided with four gates and seven ramparts and archways,
in which Yama himself resides, accompanied by his messengers.

In measurement, it is said to be a thousand yojanas;
composed entirely of gems, divine, having the brilliance of flashes of lightning and the sun.

That mansion of the King of Dharma is extensive, with the splendour of gold,
raised up to the height of five hundred yojanas.

It is surrounded by thousands of pillars, adorned with cat's-eye gems,
with latticed windows of strings of pearls, and decorated with hundreds of banners.

Rich with the sound of hundreds of bells, enclosed by hundreds of arches,
and constantly adorned with other such ornaments.

Sitting there, Lord Dharma is upon an even, auspicious seat
ten yojanas wide, resembling a dark blue raincloud.

Yama is the knower of dharma, of virtuous character, endowed with dharma, and benevolent;
he brings terror to the sinful, and bestows happiness on the righteous.

He is attended by gentle breezes, various festivals,
various discourses, and sounds of conches and musical instruments.

At the entrance to the middle of the city is the house of Citragupta,
measuring twenty-five yojanas in extent.

Ten [yojanas] high, very divine, enclosed by an iron rampart,
with movements along hundreds of streets, beautified by hundreds of banners.

Crowded with hundreds of lamps, filled with the sound of songs;
such is the house of Citragupta, adorned by those skilled in various wonderful arts.

Sitting there upon a divine, exceedingly wondrous seat made of gems and pearls,
he calculates the lifespan of men and of others.

He is never confused regarding good deeds or evil deeds;
whatever has been acquired by whomsoever and how much, he truly knows that of his.

Free of the eighteen defects, he records the deed that was committed.
To the east of Citragupta's abode is the great house of Fever.

And to the south is the house of Colic and of Pox;
to the west, of the Noose of Time, of Indigestion, and of Anorexia.

To the north of the central seat Cholera is to be known;
in the northeast is Headache, and in the southeast is Pestilence.

In the southwest is Diarrhea, and in the northwest is that named Burning Sensation;
constantly surrounded by these, that Citragupta resides.

Whatever action anyone does, he records all of it.
At the gate of the King of Dharma's house, O Tārkṣya, messengers stand, and at night
the sinful, lowest of men remain, being roasted.

Struck by the messengers of Yama with great nooses and clubs,
men are tormented for their various sins committed in past actions.

Others, by the points of various weapons and various contrivances,
evil-doers, are split in two with saws like pieces of wood.

Others are tightly surrounded on all sides by blazing coals;
by the fruition of past karma, they are forged like lumps of iron.

Cast down upon the surface of the earth, others are cut to pieces with an axe,
and are seen screaming due to the fruition of past actions.

Some by boiling in treacle, others by boiling in oil,
the most sinful men are severely tormented by Yama's messengers.

In a moment or a day, millions of others beg, 'Give, give!
In the realm of Yama I have seen: my property was consumed by you!'

In this manner, O Tārkṣya, many hells are spoken of for sinners
due to their many deeds, as declared in all the scriptures.
I will speak of the benefit of gifts, so that happiness may exist there.

Thus ends the thirty-third chapter, entitled “Description of the Extent of Yama’s Realm,” in the Pretakalpa of the Dharmakāṇḍa, in the second part of the Uttarakhaṇḍa of the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa, in the dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Garuḍa.