Devibhagavatapurana 8.21: ekaviṃśo'dhyāyaḥ | narakasvarūpavarṇanam

8.21.1

śrīnārāyaṇa uvāca |
tasyānubhāvaṃ bhagavān brahmaputraḥ sanātanaḥ |
sabhāyāṃ brahmadevasya gāyamāna upāsate ||

8.21.2

utpattisthitilayahetavo'sya kalpāḥ sattvādyāḥ prakṛtiguṇā yadīkṣayā''san |
yadrūpaṃ dhruvamakṛtaṃ yadekamātman-nānādhātkathamuha veda tasya vartma ||

8.21.3

mūrtiṃ naḥ purukṛpayā babhāra sattvaṃ saṃśuddhaṃ sadasadidaṃ vibhāti yatra |
yallīlāṃ mṛgapatirādade'navadyā-mādātuṃ svajanamanāṃsyudāravīryaḥ ||

8.21.4

yannāma śrutamanukīrtayedakasmā-dārto vā yadi patitaḥ pralambhanādvā |
hantyaṃhaḥ sapadi nṛṇāmaśeṣamanyaṃ kaṃ śeṣādbhagavata āśrayetyumukṣuḥ ||

8.21.5

mūrdhanyarpitamaṇuvatsahasramūrdhno bhūgolaṃ sagirisaritsamudrasattvam |
ānantyādanamitavikramasya bhūmnaḥ ko vīryāṇyadhigaṇayetsahasrajihvaḥ ||

8.21.6

evamprabhāvo bhagavānananto durantavīryoruguṇānubhāvaḥ |
mūle rasāyāḥ sthita ātmatantro yo līlayā kṣmāṃ sthitaye bibharti ||

8.21.7

etā hyeveha tu nṛbhirgatayo munisattama |
gantavyā bahuśo yadvadyathākarmavinirmitāḥ ||

8.21.8

yathopadeśaṃ ca kāmānsadā kāmayamānakaiḥ |
etāvatīrhi rājendra manuṣyamṛgapakṣiṣu ||

8.21.9

vipākagatayaḥ proktā dharmasya vaśagāstathā |
uccāvacā visadṛśā yathāpraśnaṃ nibodhata ||

8.21.10

nārada uvāca |
vaicitryametallokasya kathaṃ bhagavatā kṛtam |
samānatve karmaṇāṃ ca tanno brūhi yathātatham ||

Nârada said:-- “O Bhagavân! Kindly describe to me now why has the Bhagavân created so many diversities, when the Karmas, done by the Jîvas, are the same.”

8.21.11

śrīnārāyaṇa uvāca |
kartuḥ śraddhāvaśādeva gatayo'pi pṛthagvidhāḥ |
triguṇatvātsadā tāsāṃ phalaṃ visadṛśaṃ tviha ||

Nârayana said:-- O Nârada! So many different states arise because the S’raddhâs of the doers are so very different. The fruits differ because the S’raddhâs vary, some being Sâttvik, some Râjasik and some Tâmasik. If the S’raddhâ be Sâttvik, happiness comes always; if it be Râjasik, incessant pain and misery is the result; if it be Tâmasik, misery comes and the loss of the knowledge of good or bad is the result. Thus the fruits differ as the S’raddhâ varies. O Best of Dvîjas! Thousands and thousands of states occur to a man as the result of their Karmas, done under the influence of the beginningless Avidyâ (Nescience). O Dvîjottama! I will now deal in detail with their varieties; hear. Behind this Triloki, below this earth and over the Atala, the Pitris named Agnisvâttas and other forefathers live. Those Pitris stay there, and, practising deep Samâdhis, they offer always, to their best blessings to their own Gotra (families) respectively. There Yama, the God of the Pitris gives punishment to the dead brought there by His messengers according to their Karmas and faults. By the command of the Bhagavân, the Yama, surrounded by his own Ganas (persons), judges and does full justice according to the Karmas that they had done and the sins they had committed. He sends always those of his messengers who obey his order and know the Tattva of Dharma, and who are posted to their respective duties to carry out what He commands. The writers of the S’âstras describe twenty-one Narakas or hells; others say there are twenty-eight hells. Now hear their names:-- Tâmisra, Andha Tâmisra, Raurava, Mahâraurava, Kumbhîpâka, Kâlasûtra, Asipatrakânana, S’ûkaramukha, Andhakûpa, Krimibhojana, Taptamûrti, Samdams’a, Vajrakantaka, S’âlmalî, Vaitaranî, Pûyoda, Prânarodha, Vis’asana, Lâlâbhaksa, Sârameyâdana, Avîchi, Apahpâna, Ksârakardama, Raksogana, Sambhoja, S’ûlaprota, Dandas’ûka, Avatârodha, Paryâvartanaka, and Sûchimukha. These are the twenty-eight Narakas or hells. (N.B. These are 29).
These hells are very tormenting. O Son of Brahmâ! The embodied beings (jîvas) suffer these according to their own Karmas respectively.
Here ends the Twenty-first Chapter of the Eighth Book on the narrative of hells in the Mahâ Purânam, S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

8.21.12

sāttvikyā śraddhayā kartuḥ sukhitvaṃ jāyate sadā |
duḥkhitvaṃ ca tathā kartū rājasyā śraddhayā bhavet ||

8.21.13

duḥkhitvaṃ caiva mūḍhatvaṃ tāmasyā śraddhayoditam |
tāratamyāttu śraddhānāṃ phalavaicitryamīritam ||

8.21.14

anādyavidyāvihitakarmaṇāṃ pariṇāmajāḥ |
sahasraśaḥ pravṛttāstu gatayo dvijapuṅgava ||

8.21.15

tadbhedānvarṇayiṣyāmi prācuryeṇa dvijottama |
trijagatyā antarāle dakṣiṇasyāṃ diśīha vai ||

8.21.16

bhūmeradhastādupari tvatalasya ca nārada |
agniṣvāttāḥ pitṛgaṇā vartante pitaraśca ha ||

8.21.17

vasanti yasyāṃ svīyānāṃ gotrāṇāṃ paramāśiṣaḥ |
satyāḥ samādhinā śīghraṃ tvāśāsānāḥ pareṇa vai ||

8.21.18

pitṛrājo'pi bhagavān sampareteṣu jantuṣu |
viṣayaṃ prāpiteṣveṣu svakīyaiḥ puruṣairiha ||

8.21.19

sagaṇo bhagavatproktājñāparo damadhārakaḥ |
yathākarma yathādoṣaṃ vidadhāti vicāradṛk ||

8.21.20

svāngaṇāndharmatattvajñānsarvānājñāpravartakān |
sadā prerayati prājño yathādeśaniyojitān ||

8.21.21

narakānekaviṃśatyā saṅkhyayā varṇayanti hi |
aṣṭāviṃśamitānkecittānanukramato bruve ||

8.21.22

tāmisra andhatāmisro rauravo'pi tṛtīyakaḥ |
mahārauravanāmā ca kumbhīpāko'paro mataḥ ||

8.21.23

kālasūtraṃ tathā cāsipatrāraṇyamudāhṛtam |
sūkarasya mukhaṃ cāndhakūpo'tha kṛmibhojanaḥ ||

8.21.24

sandaṃśastaptamūrtiśca vajrakaṇṭaka eva ca |
śālmalī cātha devarṣe nāmnā vairataṇī tathā ||

8.21.25

pūyodaḥ prāṇarodhaśca tathā viśasanaṃ matam |
lālābhakṣaḥ sārameyādanamuktamataḥ param ||

8.21.26

avīcirapyayaḥ pānaṃ kṣārakardama eva ca |
rakṣogaṇākhyasambhojaḥ śūlaproto'pyataḥ param ||

8.21.27

dandaśūko'vaṭārodhaḥ paryāvartanakaḥ param |
sūcīmukhamiti proktā aṣṭāviṃśatinārakāḥ ||

8.21.28

ityete nārakā nāma yātanābhūmayaḥ parāḥ |
karmabhiścāpi bhūtānāṃ gamyāḥ padmajasambhava ||

8.21.28.c1

iti śrīmaddevībhāgavate mahāpurāṇe'ṣṭādaśasāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāmaṣṭamaskandhe narakasvarūpavarṇanaṃ nāmaikaviṃśo'dhyāyaḥ ||