The Twenty-Eight Hells

Verse 1 (bhagavata.5.26.1)

राजोवाच महर्ष एतद्वैचित्र्यं लोकस्य कथमिति ॥ १ ॥

rājovāca maharṣa etad vaicitryaṁ lokasya katham iti.

The King said: O great sage, how does this diversity of the world's destinies come about?

Verse 2 (bhagavata.5.26.2)

ऋषिरुवाच त्रिगुणत्वात्कर्तुः श्रद्धया कर्मगतयः पृथग्विधाः सर्वा एव सर्वस्य तारतम्येन भवन्ति ॥ २ ॥

ṛṣir uvāca tri-guṇatvāt kartuḥ śraddhayā karma-gatayaḥ pṛthag-vidhāḥ sarvā eva sarvasya tāratamyena bhavanti.

The sage said: Because the doer is himself constituted of the three gunas, in keeping with his particular faith, the fruits of action become manifold for everyone, each differing in degree.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.5.26.3)

अथेदानीं प्रतिषिद्धलक्षणस्याधर्मस्य तथैव कर्तुः श्रद्धाया वैसादृश्यात्कर्मफलं विसदृशं भवति या ह्यनाद्यविद्यया कृतकामानां तत्परिणामलक्षणाः सृतयः सहस्रशः प्रवृत्तास्तासां प्राचुर्येणानुवर्णयिष्यामः ॥ ३ ॥

athedānīṁ pratiṣiddha-lakṣaṇasyādharmasya tathaiva kartuḥ śraddhāyā vaisādṛśyāt karma-phalaṁ visadṛśaṁ bhavati yā hy anādy-avidyayā kṛta-kāmānāṁ tat-pariṇāma-lakṣaṇāḥ sṛtayaḥ sahasraśaḥ pravṛttās tāsāṁ prācuryeṇānuvarṇayiṣyāmaḥ.

Now, as for unrighteousness, marked by prohibited action, here too the fruit of action varies according to the dissimilarity of the doer's faith. Those countless paths that have proceeded, in their thousands, from beginningless ignorance, for those driven by desire, and that mark the fruition of that ignorance, I shall now describe to you at length.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.5.26.4)

राजोवाच नरका नाम भगवन्किं देशविशेषा अथवा बहिस्त्रिलोक्या आहोस्विदन्तराल इति ॥ ४ ॥

rājovāca narakā nāma bhagavan kiṁ deśa-viśeṣā athavā bahis tri-lokyā āhosvid antarāla iti.

The King said: O Bhagavan, are these regions called hells particular places, or do they lie outside the three worlds, or perhaps somewhere between them?

Verse 5 (bhagavata.5.26.5)

ऋषिरुवाच अन्तराल एव त्रिजगत्यास्तु दिशि दक्षिणस्यामधस्ताद्भूमेरुपरिष्टाच्च जलाद्यस्यामग्निष्वात्तादयः पितृगणा दिशि स्वानां गोत्राणां परमेण समाधिना सत्या एवाशिष आशासाना निवसन्ति ॥ ५ ॥

ṛṣir uvāca antarāla eva tri-jagatyās tu diśi dakṣiṇasyām adhastād bhūmer upariṣṭāc ca jalād yasyām agniṣvāttādayaḥ pitṛ-gaṇā diśi svānāṁ gotrāṇāṁ parameṇa samādhinā satyā evāśiṣa āśāsānā nivasanti.

The sage said: They lie precisely in the region between the three worlds and the causal waters, on the southern side, below the earth and above the water. It is there that the ancestral spirits headed by Agnishvatta dwell, in the direction associated with their own lineages, wishing, through the deepest meditative absorption, only what is true and good for their descendants.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.5.26.6)

यत्र ह वाव भगवान् पितृराजो वैवस्वतः स्वविषयं प्रापितेषु स्वपुरुषैर्जन्तुषु सम्परेतेषु यथाकर्मावद्यं दोषमेवानुल्लङ्घितभगवच्छासनः सगणो दमं धारयति ॥ ६ ॥

yatra ha vāva bhagavān pitṛ-rājo vaivasvataḥ sva-viṣayaṁ prāpiteṣu sva-puruṣair jantuṣu sampareteṣu yathā-karmāvadyaṁ doṣam evānullaṅghita-bhagavac-chāsanaḥ sagaṇo damaṁ dhārayati.

There indeed, Bhagavan Vaivasvata, king of the ancestral spirits, that is, Yamaraja, when creatures, having died, are brought by his own men into his domain, examines their faults according to their deeds, and, never transgressing the ordinance of Bhagavan, together with his retinue, administers due punishment.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.5.26.7)

तत्र हैके नरकानेकविंशतिं गणयन्ति अथ तांस्ते राजन्नामरूपलक्षणतोऽनुक्रमिष्यामस्तामिस्रोऽन्धतामिस्रो रौरवो महारौरवः कुम्भीपाकः कालसूत्रमसिपत्रवनं सूकरमुखमन्धकूपः कृमिभोजनः सन्दंशस्तप्तसूर्मिर्वज्रकण्टकशाल्मली वैतरणी पूयोदः प्राणरोधो विशसनं लालाभक्षः सारमेयादनमवीचिरयःपानमिति । किञ्च क्षारकर्दमो रक्षोगणभोजनः शूलप्रोतो दन्दशूकोऽवटनिरोधनः पर्यावर्तनः सूचीमुखमित्यष्टाविंशतिर्नरका विविधयातनाभूमयः ॥ ७ ॥

tatra haike narakān eka-viṁśatiṁ gaṇayanti atha tāṁs te rājan nāma-rūpa-lakṣaṇato ’nukramiṣyāmas tāmisro ’ndhatāmisro rauravo mahārauravaḥ kumbhīpākaḥ kālasūtram asipatravanaṁ sūkaramukham andhakūpaḥ kṛmibhojanaḥ sandaṁśas taptasūrmir vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalī vaitaraṇī pūyodaḥ prāṇarodho viśasanaṁ lālābhakṣaḥ sārameyādanam avīcir ayaḥpānam iti; kiñca kṣārakardamo rakṣogaṇa-bhojanaḥ śūlaproto dandaśūko ’vaṭa-nirodhanaḥ paryāvartanaḥ sūcīmukham ity aṣṭā-viṁśatir narakā vividha-yātanā-bhūmayaḥ.

Some reckon the number of hells at twenty-one. Now, O King, I shall enumerate them for you, by name, form and characteristic: Tamisra, Andhatamisra, Raurava, Maharaurava, Kumbhipaka, Kalasutra, Asipatravana, Sukaramukha, Andhakupa, Krimibhojana, Sandamsha, Taptasurmi, Vajrakantaka-shalmali, Vaitarani, Puyoda, Pranarodha, Vishasana, Lalabhaksha, Sarameyadana, Avichi and Ayahpana. And further, Ksharakardama, Rakshoganabhojana, Shulaprota, Dandashuka, Avatanirodhana, Paryavartana and Suchimukha, twenty-eight hells in all, each a distinct ground of torment.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.5.26.8)

तत्र यस्तु परवित्तापत्यकलत्राण्यपहरति स हि कालपाशबद्धो यमपुरुषैरतिभयानकैस्तामिस्रे नरके बलान्निपात्यते अनशनानुदपानदण्डताडनसन्तर्जनादिभिर्यातनाभिर्यात्यमानो जन्तुर्यत्र कश्मलमासादित एकदैव मूर्च्छामुपयाति तामिस्रप्राये ॥ ८ ॥

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.

One who steals another's wealth, children or wife is bound, at death, by the noose of time and forcibly cast down by the most fearsome servants of Yama into the hell called Tamisra. Tormented there with starvation, deprivation of water, beatings and threats, he is overcome with such anguish that he sometimes faints, in that hell aptly named 'darkness.'

Verse 9 (bhagavata.5.26.9)

एवमेवान्धतामिस्रे यस्तु वञ्चयित्वा पुरुषं दारादीनुपयुङ्क्ते यत्र शरीरी निपात्यमानो यातनास्थो वेदनया नष्टमतिर्नष्टदृष्टिश्च भवति यथा वनस्पतिर्वृश्च्यमानमूलस्तस्मादन्धतामिस्रं तमुपदिशन्ति ॥ ९ ॥

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

Likewise, one who deceives another and enjoys his wife and the rest is sent to Andhatamisra. There, the embodied soul, cast down and racked with torment, loses both intelligence and sight from the pain, just as a tree loses its life when its roots are severed. It is for this reason that they call this hell Andhatamisra, 'blind darkness.'

Verse 10 (bhagavata.5.26.10)

यस्त्विह वा एतदहमिति ममेदमिति भूतद्रोहेण केवलं स्वकुटुम्बमेवानुदिनं प्रपुष्णाति स तदिह विहाय स्वयमेव तदशुभेन रौरवे निपतति ॥ १० ॥

yas tv iha vā etad aham iti mamedam iti bhūta-droheṇa kevalaṁ sva-kuṭumbam evānudinaṁ prapuṣṇāti sa tad iha vihāya svayam eva tad-aśubhena raurave nipatati.

One who, thinking 'this is I' and 'this is mine,' does violence to other living beings merely to nourish, day after day, his own family, falls, of his own accord, through that very sin, into the hell called Raurava, once he has left all this behind.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.5.26.11)

ये त्विह यथैवामुना विहिंसिता जन्तवः परत्र यमयातनामुपगतं त एव रुरवो भूत्वा तथा तमेव विहिंसन्ति तस्माद्रौरवमित्याहू रुरुरिति सर्पादतिक्रूरसत्त्वस्यापदेशः ॥ ११ ॥

ye tv iha yathaivāmunā vihiṁsitā jantavaḥ paratra yama-yātanām upagataṁ ta eva ruravo bhūtvā tathā tam eva vihiṁsanti tasmād rauravam ity āhū rurur iti sarpād ati-krūra-sattvasyāpadeśaḥ.

The very beings he harmed in this life become, in the next, creatures called ruru, and when he is brought to the torments of Yama, they harm him in exactly the same way he harmed them. This is why the hell is called Raurava, ruru being the name of a creature reputed more cruel by nature than even a serpent.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.5.26.12)

एवमेव महारौरवो यत्र निपतितं पुरुषं क्रव्यादा नाम रुरवस्तं क्रव्येण घातयन्ति यः केवलं देहम्भरः ॥ १२ ॥

evam eva mahārauravo yatra nipatitaṁ puruṣaṁ kravyādā nāma ruravas taṁ kravyeṇa ghātayanti yaḥ kevalaṁ dehambharaḥ.

Likewise, in Maharaurava, one who fell there for having nourished only his own body, at the expense of others, is slain by ruru creatures called kravyada, who devour him with his own flesh.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.5.26.13)

यस्त्विह वा उग्रः पशून् पक्षिणो वा प्राणत उपरन्धयति तमपकरुणं पुरुषादैरपि विगर्हितममुत्र यमानुचराः कुम्भीपाके तप्ततैले उपरन्धयन्ति ॥ १३ ॥

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

One who in this life cruelly cooks living animals or birds to satisfy his own belly, so pitiless that even man-eaters condemn him, is cooked in the same way by the servants of Yama, in boiling oil, in the hell called Kumbhipaka.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.5.26.14)

यस्त्विह ब्रह्मध्रुक स कालसूत्रसंज्ञके नरके अयुतयोजनपरिमण्डले ताम्रमये तप्तखले उपर्यधस्तादग्न्यर्काभ्यामतितप्यमानेऽभिनिवेशितः क्षुत्पिपासाभ्यां च दह्यमानान्तर्बहिःशरीर आस्ते शेते चेष्टतेऽवतिष्ठति परिधावति च यावन्ति पशुरोमाणि तावद्वर्षसहस्राणि ॥ १४ ॥

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

One who is the killer of a brahmana is placed in the hell called Kalasutra, ten thousand yojanas in circumference, made of copper, its scorching surface heated from above by the sun and from below by fire. Burning both within and without from hunger and thirst, he lies down, writhes, stands, and runs about there for as many thousand years as there are hairs on an animal's body.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.5.26.15)

यस्त्विह वै निजवेदपथादनापद्यपगतः पाखण्डं चोपगतस्तमसिपत्रवनं प्रवेश्य कशया प्रहरन्ति तत्र हासावितस्ततो धावमान उभयतोधारैस्तालवनासिपत्रैश्छिद्यमानसर्वाङ्गो हा हतोऽस्मीति परमया वेदनया मूर्च्छितः पदे पदे निपतति स्वधर्महा पाखण्डानुगतं फलं भुङ्क्ते ॥ १५ ॥

yas tv iha vai nija-veda-pathād anāpady apagataḥ pākhaṇḍaṁ copagatas tam asi-patravanaṁ 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 pākhaṇḍānugataṁ phalaṁ bhuṅkte.

One who, without any real necessity, abandons his own Vedic path and takes up heresy is made to enter the hell of Asipatravana, where they beat him with whips. Running here and there, his whole body cut by the double-edged, sword-like leaves of that palm forest, he cries out, 'Alas, I am slain!' and falls fainting at every step in unbearable agony. Thus the one who destroys his own dharma reaps the fruit that follows upon heresy.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.5.26.16)

यस्त्विह वै राजा राजपुरुषो वा अदण्ड्ये दण्डं प्रणयति ब्राह्मणे वा शरीरदण्डं स पापीयान्नरकेऽमुत्र सूकरमुखे निपतति तत्रातिबलैर्विनिष्पिष्यमाणावयवो यथैवेहेक्षुखण्ड आर्तस्वरेण स्वनयन् क्वचिन्मूर्च्छितः कश्मलमुपगतो यथैवेहादृष्टदोषा उपरुद्धाः ॥ १६ ॥

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

A king or royal official who inflicts punishment on one who does not deserve it, or who metes out corporal punishment on a brahmana, that most sinful person falls, in his next life, into the hell called Sukaramukha. There his limbs are crushed by the most powerful servants of Yama, just as sugarcane is crushed here to extract its juice; crying out in a pitiful voice, he sometimes faints, overwhelmed with anguish, just as innocent men here are made to suffer for faults that were never truly seen in them.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.5.26.17)

यस्त्विह वै भूतानामीश्वरोपकल्पितवृत्तीनामविविक्तपरव्यथानां स्वयं पुरुषोपकल्पितवृत्तिर्विविक्तपरव्यथो व्यथामाचरति स परत्रान्धकूपे तदभिद्रोहेण निपतति तत्र हासौ तैर्जन्तुभिः पशुमृगपक्षिसरीसृपैर्मशकयूकामत्कुणमक्षिकादिभिर्ये के चाभिद्रुग्धास्तैः सर्वतोऽभिद्रुह्यमाणस्तमसि विहतनिद्रानिर्वृतिरलब्धावस्थानः परिक्रामति यथा कुशरीरे जीवः ॥ १७ ॥

yas tv iha vai bhūtānām īśvaropakalpita-vṛttīnām avivikta-para-vyathānāṁ svayaṁ 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.

One who, though himself provided with the means of livelihood that only a human being can arrange, still causes suffering to creatures whose own means of survival, though set in place by the Lord Himself, leave them unable to voice their pain to another, commits an offense against them. Through that very offense, he falls, in the next life, into the hell called Andhakupa. There, attacked from every side by every creature he wronged, whether cattle, deer, birds, reptiles, mosquitoes, lice, bedbugs, flies or the like, and robbed of the peace of sleep, he wanders about, finding no rest, in darkness, like a soul confined to a wretched body.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.5.26.18)

यस्त्विह वा असंविभज्याश्नाति यत्किञ्चनोपनतमनिर्मितपञ्चयज्ञो वायससंस्तुतः स परत्र कृमिभोजने नरकाधमे निपतति तत्र शतसहस्रयोजने कृमिकुण्डे कृमिभूतः स्वयं कृमिभिरेव भक्ष्यमाणः कृमिभोजनो यावत्तदप्रत्ताप्रहूतादोऽनिर्वेशमात्मानं यातयते ॥ १८ ॥

yas tv iha vā asaṁvibhajyāśnāti yat kiñcanopanatam anirmita-pañca-yajño vāyasa-saṁstutaḥ sa paratra kṛmibhojane narakādhame nipatati tatra śata-sahasra-yojane kṛmi-kuṇḍe kṛmi-bhūtaḥ svayaṁ kṛmibhir eva bhakṣyamāṇaḥ kṛmi-bhojano yāvat tad aprattāprahūtādo ’nirveśam ātmānaṁ yātayate.

One who eats whatever comes to him without sharing it, having performed none of the five daily sacrifices, praised only by crows for his stinginess, falls, in the next life, into the most vile of hells, Krimibhojana. There, in a pit of worms a hundred thousand yojanas wide, he himself becomes a worm and, feeding upon other worms while being devoured by them in turn, torments himself without relief, so long as he had not, while living, given in charity or offered hospitality to guests.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.5.26.19)

यस्त्विह वै स्तेयेन बलाद्वा हिरण्यरत्नादीनि ब्राह्मणस्य वापहरत्यन्यस्य वानापदि पुरुषस्तममुत्र राजन् यमपुरुषा अयस्मयैरग्निपिण्डैः सन्दंशैस्त्वचि निष्कुषन्ति ॥ १९ ॥

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

One who, by theft or by force, steals gold, jewels or the like belonging to a brahmana, or to anyone else, without there being any real necessity, such a person, O King, has his skin torn by the servants of Yama in the next life with red-hot iron balls gripped in tongs.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.5.26.20)

यस्त्विह वा अगम्यां स्त्रियमगम्यं वा पुरुषं योषिदभिगच्छति तावमुत्र कशया ताडयन्तस्तिग्मया सूर्म्या लोहमय्या पुरुषमालिङ्गयन्ति स्त्रियं च पुरुषरूपया सूर्म्या ॥ २० ॥

yas tv iha vā agamyāṁ striyam agamyaṁ vā puruṣaṁ yoṣid abhigacchati tāv amutra kaśayā tāḍayantas tigmayā sūrmyā lohamayyā puruṣam āliṅgayanti striyaṁ ca puruṣa-rūpayā sūrmyā.

A man or woman who goes to an improper partner in this life, a man to a forbidden woman, a woman to a forbidden man, is, in the next life, beaten with whips, and the man is made to embrace a red-hot iron form of a woman, while the woman is made to embrace a similarly heated iron form shaped like a man.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.5.26.21)

यस्त्विह वै सर्वाभिगमस्तममुत्र निरये वर्तमानं वज्रकण्टकशाल्मलीमारोप्य निष्कर्षन्ति ॥ २१ ॥

yas tv iha vai sarvābhigamas tam amutra niraye vartamānaṁ vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalīm āropya niṣkarṣanti.

One who indulges in sexual union indiscriminately, with anyone at all, is, in that hell, hoisted upon the thorny tree called Vajrakantaka-shalmali and then dragged forcibly down.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.5.26.22)

ये त्विह वै राजन्या राजपुरुषा वा अपाखण्डा धर्मसेतून् भिन्दन्ति ते सम्परेत्य वैतरण्यां निपतन्ति भिन्नमर्यादास्तस्यां निरयपरिखाभूतायां नद्यां यादोगणैरितस्ततो भक्ष्यमाणा आत्मना न वियुज्यमानाश्चासुभिरुह्यमानाः स्वाघेन कर्मपाकमनुस्मरन्तो विण्मूत्रपूयशोणितकेशनखास्थिमेदोमांसवसावाहिन्यामुपतप्यन्ते ॥ २२ ॥

ye tv iha vai rājanyā rāja-puruṣā vā apākhaṇḍā dharma-setūn bhindanti te samparetya vaitaraṇyāṁ nipatanti bhinna-maryādās tasyāṁ niraya-parikhā-bhūtāyāṁ nadyāṁ yādo-gaṇair itas tato bhakṣyamāṇā ātmanā na viyujyamānāś cāsubhir uhyamānāḥ svāghena karma-pākam anusmaranto viṇ-mūtra-pūya-śoṇita-keśa-nakhāsthi-medo-māṁsa-vasā-vāhinyām upatapyante.

Those who, belonging to the royal order or serving as royal officials, though not themselves heretics, still transgress the bounds of dharma, fall, at death, their limits broken, into the river Vaitarani. There, in that river forming the very moat of hell, they are devoured on all sides by aquatic creatures, yet never separated from their souls, still sustained by their life-airs, and remembering, through their own sin, the full ripening of their deeds, they are tormented in that river which carries stool, urine, pus, blood, hair, nails, bones, marrow, flesh and fat.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.5.26.23)

ये त्विह वै वृषलीपतयो नष्टशौचाचारनियमास्त्यक्तलज्जाः पशुचर्यां चरन्ति ते चापि प्रेत्य पूयविण्मूत्रश्लेष्ममलापूर्णार्णवे निपतन्ति तदेवातिबीभत्सितमश्नन्ति ॥ २३ ॥

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

Those who, as husbands of low-born women, having lost all sense of purity, proper conduct and restraint, and having abandoned all shame, live exactly like animals, fall likewise, after death, into an ocean filled with pus, stool, urine, mucus and filth, and are made to eat that very loathsome matter.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.5.26.24)

ये त्विह वै श्वगर्दभपतयो ब्राह्मणादयो मृगयाविहारा अतीर्थे च मृगान्निघ्नन्ति तानपि सम्परेताँल्लक्ष्यभूतान् यमपुरुषा इषुभिर्विध्यन्ति ॥ २४ ॥

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

Those brahmanas and others who delight in hunting with dogs and donkeys, killing deer outside any sacred purpose, are, after death, likewise used as targets by the servants of Yama, who pierce them through with arrows.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.5.26.25)

ये त्विह वै दाम्भिका दम्भयज्ञेषु पशून् विशसन्ति तानमुष्मिँल्लोके वैशसे नरके पतितान्निरयपतयो यातयित्वा विशसन्ति ॥ २५ ॥

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

Those hypocrites who slaughter animals in sacrifices performed merely for the sake of show fall, once in that world, into the hell called Vishasana, where the lords of that realm first torment and then slaughter them.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.5.26.26)

यस्त्विह वै सवर्णां भार्यां द्विजो रेतः पाययति काममोहितस्तं पापकृतममुत्र रेतःकुल्यायां पातयित्वा रेतः सम्पाययन्ति ॥ २६ ॥

yas tv iha vai savarṇāṁ bhāryāṁ dvijo retaḥ pāyayati kāma-mohitas taṁ pāpa-kṛtam amutra retaḥ-kulyāyāṁ pātayitvā retaḥ sampāyayanti.

A twice-born man who, deluded by lust, forces his own lawfully wedded wife to drink his semen is, as a sinner, in the next life thrown into a stream of semen and made to drink of it.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.5.26.27)

ये त्विह वै दस्यवोऽग्निदा गरदा ग्रामान् सार्थान् वा विलुम्पन्ति राजानो राजभटा वा तांश्चापि हि परेत्य यमदूता वज्रदंष्ट्राः श्वानः सप्तशतानि विंशतिश्च सरभसं खादन्ति ॥ २७ ॥

ye tv iha vai dasyavo ’gnidā garadā grāmān sārthān vā vilumpanti rājāno rāja-bhaṭā vā tāṁś cāpi hi paretya yamadūtā vajra-daṁṣṭrāḥ śvānaḥ sapta-śatāni viṁśatiś ca sarabhasaṁ khādanti.

Those thieves who set fire to houses, administer poison, or plunder villages or caravans, and kings and soldiers who do the same, are, after death, devoured with great ferocity by the messengers of Yama, dogs with fangs like thunderbolts, seven hundred and twenty in number.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.5.26.28)

यस्त्विह वा अनृतं वदति साक्ष्ये द्रव्यविनिमये दाने वा कथञ्चित्स वै प्रेत्य नरकेऽवीचिमत्यधःशिरा निरवकाशे योजनशतोच्छ्रायाद् गिरिमूर्ध्नः सम्पात्यते यत्र जलमिव स्थलमश्मपृष्ठमवभासते तदवीचिमत्तिलशो विशीर्यमाणशरीरो न म्रियमाणः पुनरारोपितो निपतति ॥ २८ ॥

yas tv iha vā anṛtaṁ 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.

One who speaks falsely in giving testimony, in commercial exchange, or in acts of charity, however slight the deception, is, after death, thrown headfirst into the shelterless hell called Avichimat, cast down from the summit of a mountain a hundred yojanas high, where the ground gleams like water though it is, in truth, solid rock. There, his body shattered into fragments as small as sesame seeds, and yet unable to die, he is lifted up and thrown down again and again.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.5.26.29)

यस्त्विह वै विप्रो राजन्यो वैश्यो वा सोमपीथस्तत्कलत्रं वा सुरां व्रतस्थोऽपि वा पिबति प्रमादतस्तेषां निरयं नीतानामुरसि पदाऽऽक्रम्यास्ये वह्निना द्रवमाणं कार्ष्णायसं निषिञ्चन्ति ॥ २९ ॥

yas tv iha vai vipro rājanyo vaiśyo vā soma-pīthas tat-kalatraṁ vā surāṁ vrata-stho ’pi vā pibati pramādatas teṣāṁ nirayaṁ nītānām urasi padākramyāsye vahninā dravamāṇaṁ kārṣṇāyasaṁ niṣiñcanti.

A brahmana, kshatriya or vaishya entitled to drink soma, or such a man's wife, or one bound by a special vow, who carelessly drinks liquor, is brought to hell, where Yama's servants, pressing a foot upon his chest, pour molten black iron, mixed with fire, into his mouth.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.5.26.30)

अथ च यस्त्विह वा आत्मसम्भावनेन स्वयमधमो जन्मतपोविद्याचारवर्णाश्रमवतो वरीयसो न बहु मन्येत स मृतक एव मृत्वा क्षारकर्दमे निरयेऽवाक्शिरा निपातितो दुरन्ता यातना ह्यश्नुते ॥ ३० ॥

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.

And further, one who, himself lowly by birth, out of vain self-conceit fails to show due honor to another who is superior by birth, austerity, learning, conduct, caste or spiritual order, is, in truth, dead even while still alive. Upon dying, he is thrown headfirst into the hell called Ksharakardama, and there suffers endless torment.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.5.26.31)

ये त्विह वै पुरुषाः पुरुषमेधेन यजन्ते याश्च स्त्रियो नृपशून्खादन्ति तांश्च ते पशव इव निहता यमसदने यातयन्तो रक्षोगणाः सौनिका इव स्वधितिनावदायासृक्पिबन्ति नृत्यन्ति च गायन्ति च हृष्यमाणा यथेह पुरुषादाः ॥ ३१ ॥

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

Those men who perform human sacrifice, and those women who devour human flesh as though it were the flesh of an animal, are, in the abode of Yama, slaughtered like animals themselves. There, tormenting hosts of demons, like butchers, cut them apart with cleavers and drink their blood, dancing and singing in celebration, just as these very people, as man-eaters, once did in this world.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.5.26.32)

ये त्विह वा अनागसोऽरण्ये ग्रामे वा वैश्रम्भकैरुपसृतानुपविश्रम्भय्य जिजीविषून् शूलसूत्रादिषूपप्रोतान्क्रीडनकतया यातयन्ति तेऽपि च प्रेत्य यमयातनासु शूलादिषु प्रोतात्मानः क्षुत्तृड्भ्यां चाभिहताः कङ्कवटादिभिश्चेतस्ततस्तिग्मतुण्डैराहन्यमाना आत्मशमलं स्मरन्ति ॥ ३२ ॥

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-tṛḍbhyāṁ cābhihatāḥ kaṅka-vaṭādibhiś cetas tatas tigma-tuṇḍair āhanyamānā ātma-śamalaṁ smaranti.

Those who, in this world, in village or forest, win the trust of creatures that come to them seeking refuge, lure them with false promises of protection, and then, for mere amusement, pierce them with spears, cords and the like as though they were toys, are, after death, likewise tortured with lances in the torments of Yama. Their bodies pierced and struck from every side, tormented by hunger and thirst, and set upon by sharp-beaked birds such as hawks and vultures, they are made, through this suffering, to remember their own sin.

Verse 33 (bhagavata.5.26.33)

ये त्विह वै भूतान्युद्वेजयन्ति नरा उल्बणस्वभावा यथा दन्दशूकास्तेऽपि प्रेत्य नरके दन्दशूकाख्ये निपतन्ति यत्र नृप दन्दशूकाः पञ्चमुखाः सप्तमुखा उपसृत्य ग्रसन्ति यथा बिलेशयान् ॥ ३३ ॥

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 men who, being of a vicious and cruel nature, cause distress to other living beings, much like venomous serpents, fall, after death, into the hell called Dandashuka. There, O King, serpents with five and seven hoods approach and swallow them, just as serpents swallow creatures that dwell in burrows.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.5.26.34)

ये त्विह वा अन्धावटकुसूलगुहादिषु भूतानि निरुन्धन्ति तथामुत्र तेष्वेवोपवेश्य सगरेण वह्निना धूमेन निरुन्धन्ति ॥ ३४ ॥

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

Those who, in this life, confine living beings in dark wells, granaries, caves and the like are, likewise, in the next world, seated in just such places and confined there amid the choking smoke of a smoldering fire.

Verse 35 (bhagavata.5.26.35)

यस्त्विह वा अतिथीनभ्यागतान् वा गृहपतिरसकृदुपगतमन्युर्दिधक्षुरिव पापेन चक्षुषा निरीक्षते तस्य चापि निरये पापदृष्टेरक्षिणी वज्रतुण्डा गृध्राः कङ्ककाकवटादयः प्रसह्योरु- बलादुत्पाटयन्ति ॥ ३५ ॥

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 looks upon guests or visitors again and again with an angry, malicious glance, as though wishing to burn them to ashes, has his eyes, in that hell, forcibly torn out by vultures, herons, crows and the like, their beaks hard as iron, on account of his own sinful gaze.

Verse 36 (bhagavata.5.26.36)

यस्त्विह वा आढ्याभिमतिरहङ्कृतिस्तिर्यक्प्रेक्षणः सर्वतोऽभिविशङ्की अर्थव्ययनाशचिन्तया परिशुष्यमाणहृदयवदनो निर्वृतिमनवगतो ग्रह इवार्थमभिरक्षति स चापि प्रेत्य तदुत्पादनोत्कर्षणसंरक्षणशमलग्रहः सूचीमुखे नरके निपतति यत्र ह वित्तग्रहं पापपुरुषं धर्मराजपुरुषा वायका इव सर्वतोऽङ्गेषु सूत्रैः परिवयन्ति ॥ ३६ ॥

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-saṁrakṣaṇa-śamala-grahaḥ sūcīmukhe narake nipatati yatra ha vitta-grahaṁ pāpa-puruṣaṁ dharmarāja-puruṣā vāyakā iva sarvato ’ṅgeṣu sūtraiḥ parivayanti.

One who, thinking himself wealthy and filled with self-pride, glances at others with suspicion from every side, his face and heart withering with anxious thought over the loss or spending of his wealth, understanding nothing of true contentment and guarding his money as though possessed by a demon, falls, after death, still gripped by the sin of acquiring, increasing and protecting that wealth, into the hell called Suchimukha. There, the servants of Dharmaraja sew thread through the whole body of that sinful, wealth-obsessed man, from every side, as weavers do their cloth.

Verse 37 (bhagavata.5.26.37)

एवंविधा नरका यमालये सन्ति शतशः सहस्रशस्तेषु सर्वेषु च सर्व एवाधर्मवर्तिनो ये केचिदिहोदिता अनुदिताश्चावनिपते पर्यायेण विशन्ति तथैव धर्मानुवर्तिन इतरत्र इह तु पुनर्भवे त उभयशेषाभ्यां निविशन्ति ॥ ३७ ॥

evaṁ-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-śeṣābhyāṁ niviśanti.

Such hells as these exist by the hundreds and thousands in the domain of Yama; into all of them, without exception, every unrighteous person, whether I have named him specifically or not, O lord of the earth, enters in his turn, according to his deeds. Likewise, the righteous enter the other regions, the worlds of the demigods. But here, in this world of rebirth, both the righteous and the unrighteous return again once the residue of their merit or demerit has been exhausted.

Verse 38 (bhagavata.5.26.38)

निवृत्तिलक्षणमार्ग आदावेव व्याख्यातः । एतावानेवाण्डकोशो यश्चतुर्दशधा पुराणेषु विकल्पित उपगीयते यत्तद्भगवतो नारायणस्य साक्षान्महापुरुषस्य स्थविष्ठं रूपमात्ममायागुणमयमनुवर्णितमादृतः पठति शृणोति श्रावयति स उपगेयं भगवतः परमात्मनोऽग्राह्यमपि श्रद्धाभक्तिविशुद्धबुद्धिर्वेद ॥ ३८ ॥

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

The path marked by renunciation has already been explained at the very outset. This much alone constitutes the cosmic egg, celebrated in the Puranas as divided fourteenfold: it is the grossest form, composed of His own maya and its qualities, of Bhagavan Narayana, the Supreme Person Himself. Whoever reads of it, hears of it, or causes it to be heard, with reverence, comes, through an understanding purified by faith and devotion, to know even that which is otherwise beyond grasp, that which alone is truly worthy of being sung of the Supreme Soul, Bhagavan.

Verse 39 (bhagavata.5.26.39)

श्रुत्वा स्थूलं तथा सूक्ष्मं रूपं भगवतो यतिः । स्थूले निर्जितमात्मानं शनैः सूक्ष्मं धिया नयेदिति ॥ ३९ ॥

śrutvā sthūlaṁ tathā sūkṣmaṁ rūpaṁ bhagavato yatiḥ sthūle nirjitam ātmānaṁ śanaiḥ sūkṣmaṁ dhiyā nayed iti

Having heard of both the gross and the subtle forms of Bhagavan, the seeker of liberation should first conquer the mind through contemplation of the gross form, and then, gradually, through discernment, lead it on to the subtle.

Verse 40 (bhagavata.5.26.40)

भूद्वीपवर्षसरिदद्रिनभःसमुद्र- पातालदिङ्नरकभागणलोकसंस्था । गीता मया तव नृपाद्भुतमीश्वरस्य स्थूलं वपुः सकलजीवनिकायधाम ॥ ४० ॥

bhū-dvīpa-varṣa-sarid-adri-nabhaḥ-samudra- pātāla-diṅ-naraka-bhāgaṇa-loka-saṁsthā gītā mayā tava nṛpādbhutam īśvarasya sthūlaṁ vapuḥ sakala-jīva-nikāya-dhāma

The arrangement of the earth, its island-continents, lands, rivers, mountains, sky, oceans, subterranean realms, directions, hellish regions, the constellations and the planetary systems, all this, O King, I have sung to you: the wondrous, gross body of the Lord, the very abode of the entire assembly of living beings.