The Hells and Their Sins

Verse 1 (devibhagavatam.8.22.1)

नारद उवाच । कर्मभेदाः कतिविधाः सनातनमुने मम । श्रोतव्याः सर्वथैवैते यातनाप्राप्तिभूमयः

nārada uvāca | karmabhedāḥ katividhāḥ sanātanamune mama | śrotavyāḥ sarvathaivaite yātanāprāptibhūmayaḥ

Narada said: O eternal sage, how many kinds of actions are there, that I should hear of in full — and the lands of torment attained through each?

Verse 2 (devibhagavatam.8.22.2)

श्रीनारायण उवाच । यो वै परस्य वित्तानि दारापत्यानि चैव हि । हरते स हि दुष्टात्मा यमानुचरगोचरः

śrīnārāyaṇa uvāca | yo vai parasya vittāni dārāpatyāni caiva hi | harate sa hi duṣṭātmā yamānucaragocaraḥ

Shri Narayana said: He who steals another's wealth, and likewise his wife and children — that wicked soul indeed falls within the reach of Yama's attendants,

Verse 3 (devibhagavatam.8.22.3)

कालपाशेन सम्बद्धो याम्यैरतिभयानकैः । तामिस्रनामनरके पात्यते यातनास्पदे

kālapāśena sambaddho yāmyairatibhayānakaiḥ | tāmisranāmanarake pātyate yātanāspade

— bound by the noose of death, by the most terrifying servants of Yama, he is cast down into the hell called Tamisra, the abode of torment,

Verse 4 (devibhagavatam.8.22.4)

ताडनं दण्डनं चैव सन्तर्जनमतः परम् । याम्याः कुर्वन्ति पाशाढ्याः कश्मलं याति चैव हि

tāḍanaṁ daṇḍanaṁ caiva santarjanamataḥ param | yāmyāḥ kurvanti pāśāḍhyāḥ kaśmalaṁ yāti caiva hi

— where the noose-bearing servants of Yama beat him, punish him, and terrify him further; and he falls into deep anguish,

Verse 5 (devibhagavatam.8.22.5)

मूर्च्छामायाति विवशो नारकी पद्मभूसुत । यः पतिं वञ्चयित्वा तु दारादीनुपभुज्यति

mūrcchāmāyāti vivaśo nārakī padmabhūsuta | yaḥ patiṁ vañcayitvā tu dārādīnupabhujyati

— that helpless hell-dweller falls into a swoon, O son of the lotus-born. He who, having deceived a husband, enjoys his wife and household,

Verse 6 (devibhagavatam.8.22.6)

अन्धतामिस्रनरके पात्यते यमकिङ्करैः । पात्यमानो यत्र जन्तुर्वेदनापरवान्भवेत्

andhatāmisranarake pātyate yamakiṅkaraiḥ | pātyamāno yatra janturvedanāparavānbhavet

— is cast by Yama's servants into the hell called Andhatamisra, where the creature, as he plunges down, is overwhelmed with agony,

Verse 7 (devibhagavatam.8.22.7)

नष्टदृष्टिर्नष्टमतिर्भवत्येवाविलम्बतः । वनस्पतिर्भज्यमानमूलो यद्वद्भवेदिह

naṣṭadṛṣṭirnaṣṭamatirbhavatyevāvilambataḥ | vanaspatirbhajyamānamūlo yadvadbhavediha

— his sight and his mind lost at once, just as a tree, its root broken, becomes helpless here in this world.

Verse 8 (devibhagavatam.8.22.8)

तस्मादप्यन्धतामिस्रनाम्ना प्रोक्तः पुरातनैः । एतन्ममाहमिति यो भूतद्रोहेण केवलम्

tasmādapyandhatāmisranāmnā proktaḥ purātanaiḥ | etanmamāhamiti yo bhūtadroheṇa kevalam

For this very reason the ancients have named it "Andhatamisra." He who, thinking only "this is mine, I am this," through sheer harm done to other creatures,

Verse 9 (devibhagavatam.8.22.9)

पुष्णाति प्रत्यहं स्वीयं कुटुम्बं कार्यलम्पटः । एतद्विहाय चात्रैव स्वाशुभेन पतेदिह

puṣṇāti pratyahaṁ svīyaṁ kuṭumbaṁ kāryalampaṭaḥ | etadvihāya cātraiva svāśubhena patediha

— every day nourishes only his own family, engrossed in worldly business, and thereby forsakes dharma — he, through his own evil, falls right here into —

Verse 10 (devibhagavatam.8.22.10)

रौरवे नाम नरके सर्वसत्त्वभयावहे । इह लोकेऽमुना ये तु हिंसिता जन्तवः पुरा

raurave nāma narake sarvasattvabhayāvahe | iha loke'munā ye tu hiṁsitā jantavaḥ purā

— the hell named Raurava, a terror to all beings. Whatever creatures he had formerly injured in this world —

Verse 11 (devibhagavatam.8.22.11)

त एव रुरवो भूत्वा परत्र पीडयन्ति तम् । तस्माद्रौरवमित्याहुः पुराणज्ञा मनीषिणः

ta eva ruravo bhūtvā paratra pīḍayanti tam | tasmādrauravamityāhuḥ purāṇajñā manīṣiṇaḥ

— those very creatures, becoming "Rurus," torment him in the next world; for this reason, the wise knowers of the Puranas call it Raurava.

Verse 12 (devibhagavatam.8.22.12)

रुरुः सर्पादतिक्रूरो जन्तुरुक्तः पुरातनैः । एवं महारौरवाख्यो नरको यत्र पूरुषः

ruruḥ sarpādatikrūro janturuktaḥ purātanaiḥ | evaṁ mahārauravākhyo narako yatra pūruṣaḥ

The Ruru is described by the ancients as a creature even more savage than a serpent. Likewise there is the hell called Maharaurava, where a man,

Verse 13 (devibhagavatam.8.22.13)

यातनां प्राप्यमाणो हि यः परं देहसम्भवः । क्रव्यादा नाम रुरवस्तं क्रव्ये घातयन्ति च

yātanāṁ prāpyamāṇo hi yaḥ paraṁ dehasambhavaḥ | kravyādā nāma ruravastaṁ kravye ghātayanti ca

— as he undergoes torment, is set upon by those very creatures he once fed his own body with; the flesh-eating Rurus called Kravyada strike him down amid raw flesh.

Verse 14 (devibhagavatam.8.22.14)

य उग्रः पुरुषः क्रूरः पशुपक्षिगणानपि । उपरन्धयते मूढो याम्यास्तं रन्धयन्ति च

ya ugraḥ puruṣaḥ krūraḥ paśupakṣigaṇānapi | uparandhayate mūḍho yāmyāstaṁ randhayanti ca

The fierce, cruel, foolish man who cooks even flocks of animals and birds alive — Yama's men, in turn, cook him,

Verse 15 (devibhagavatam.8.22.15)

कुम्भीपाके तप्ततैले उपर्यपि च नारद । यावन्ति पशुरोमाणि तावद्वर्षसहस्रकम्

kumbhīpāke taptataile uparyapi ca nārada | yāvanti paśuromāṇi tāvadvarṣasahasrakam

— in Kumbhipaka, in boiling oil set over fire, O Narada, for as many thousand years as there were hairs on the animal's body.

Verse 16 (devibhagavatam.8.22.16)

पितृविप्रब्राह्मणध्रुक्कालसूत्रे स नारके । अग्न्यर्काभ्यां तप्यमाने नारकी विनिवेशितः

pitṛviprabrāhmaṇadhrukkālasūtre sa nārake | agnyarkābhyāṁ tapyamāne nārakī viniveśitaḥ

He who does violence against his father, or against a learned man or a brahmin, is thrust as a hell-dweller into the hell called Kalasutra, scorched by both fire and sun,

Verse 17 (devibhagavatam.8.22.17)

क्षुत्पिपासादह्यमानोऽन्तःशरीरस्तथा बहिः । आस्ते शेते चेष्टते चावतिष्ठति च धावति

kṣutpipāsādahyamāno'ntaḥśarīrastathā bahiḥ | āste śete ceṣṭate cāvatiṣṭhati ca dhāvati

— consumed by hunger and thirst, both inside and outside his body, he sits, lies down, struggles, stands, and runs there without respite.

Verse 18 (devibhagavatam.8.22.18)

निजवेदपथाद्यो वै पाखण्डं चोपयाति च । अनापद्यपि देवर्षे तं पापं पुरुषं भटाः

nijavedapathādyo vai pākhaṇḍaṁ copayāti ca | anāpadyapi devarṣe taṁ pāpaṁ puruṣaṁ bhaṭāḥ

He who, without any genuine hardship compelling him, abandons his own Vedic path for heresy, O divine sage — that sinful man, Yama's soldiers —

Verse 19 (devibhagavatam.8.22.19)

असिपत्रवनं नाम नरकं वेशयन्ति च । कशया प्रहरन्त्येव नारकी तद्गतस्तदा

asipatravanaṁ nāma narakaṁ veśayanti ca | kaśayā praharantyeva nārakī tadgatastadā

— cast into the hell named Asipatravana (forest of sword-leaves); and there, once he has entered, they strike that hell-dweller with whips,

Verse 20 (devibhagavatam.8.22.20)

इतस्ततो धावमान उत्तालमतिवेगतः । असिपत्रैश्छिद्यमान उभयत्र च धारभिः

itastato dhāvamāna uttālamativegataḥ | asipatraiśchidyamāna ubhayatra ca dhārabhiḥ

— and, running here and there in wild, frantic haste, he is slashed on every side by the sword-edged leaves and their blades,

Verse 21 (devibhagavatam.8.22.21)

सञ्छिद्यमानसर्वाङ्गो हाहतोऽस्मीति मूर्च्छितः । वेदनां परमां प्राप्तः पतत्येव पदे पदे

sañchidyamānasarvāṅgo hāhato'smīti mūrcchitaḥ | vedanāṁ paramāṁ prāptaḥ patatyeva pade pade

— all his limbs slashed, crying "Alas, I am struck down!", he swoons; overwhelmed by the utmost agony, he falls at every single step.

Verse 22 (devibhagavatam.8.22.22)

स्वधर्मानुगतं भुङ्क्ते पाखण्डफलमल्पधीः । यो राजा राजपुरुषो दण्डयेद्वै त्वधर्मतः

svadharmānugataṁ bhuṅkte pākhaṇḍaphalamalpadhīḥ | yo rājā rājapuruṣo daṇḍayedvai tvadharmataḥ

That dull-witted man thus reaps the fruit of his heresy, having strayed from his own proper dharma. That king, or royal officer, who metes out punishment unjustly,

Verse 23 (devibhagavatam.8.22.23)

द्विजे शरीरदण्डं च पापीयान्नारकी च सः । नरके सूकरमुखे पात्यते यमकिङ्करैः

dvije śarīradaṇḍaṁ ca pāpīyānnārakī ca saḥ | narake sūkaramukhe pātyate yamakiṅkaraiḥ

— inflicting bodily punishment upon a twice-born brahmin, becomes a most sinful hell-dweller, and is cast by Yama's servants into the hell called Sukaramukha (Boar's Mouth),

Verse 24 (devibhagavatam.8.22.24)

विनिष्यिष्टावयवको बलवद्भिस्तथेक्षुवत् । आर्तस्वरेण स्वनयन्मूर्च्छितः कश्मलङ्गतः

viniṣyiṣṭāvayavako balavadbhistathekṣuvat | ārtasvareṇa svanayanmūrcchitaḥ kaśmalaṅgataḥ

— his limbs crushed by powerful beings just as sugarcane is pressed, he cries out in a voice of anguish, swoons, and sinks into deep torment,

Verse 25 (devibhagavatam.8.22.25)

स पीड्यमानो बहुधा वेदनां यात्यतीव हि । विविक्तपरपीडो योऽप्यविविक्तपरव्यथाम्

sa pīḍyamāno bahudhā vedanāṁ yātyatīva hi | viviktaparapīḍo yo'pyaviviktaparavyathām

— tormented in manifold ways, he undergoes the most extreme agony. And likewise he who, discerning where to inflict pain on others, remains indifferent to the indiscriminate suffering he causes,

Verse 26 (devibhagavatam.8.22.26)

ईश्वराङ्कितवृत्तीनां व्यथामाचरते स्वयम् । स चान्धकूपे पतति तदभिद्रोहयन्त्रिते

īśvarāṅkitavṛttīnāṁ vyathāmācarate svayam | sa cāndhakūpe patati tadabhidrohayantrite

— inflicting suffering upon creatures simply going about the way of life the Lord ordained for them — such a man, bound fast by that very malice, falls into the hell called Andhakupa,

Verse 27 (devibhagavatam.8.22.27)

तत्रासौ जन्तुभिः क्रूरैः पशुभिर्मृगपक्षिभिः । सरीसृपैश्च मशकैर्यूकामत्कुणजातिभिः

tatrāsau jantubhiḥ krūraiḥ paśubhirmṛgapakṣibhiḥ | sarīsṛpaiśca maśakairyūkāmatkuṇajātibhiḥ

— there, by cruel creatures — beasts, deer, birds, reptiles, mosquitoes, and the species of lice and bedbugs,

Verse 28 (devibhagavatam.8.22.28)

मक्षिकाभिश्च तमसि दन्दशूकैश्च पीड्यते । परिक्रामति चैवात्र कुशरीरे च जन्तुवत्

makṣikābhiśca tamasi dandaśūkaiśca pīḍyate | parikrāmati caivātra kuśarīre ca jantuvat

— and by flies and biting insects, he is tormented there in that darkness; and he wanders about there, in a wretched body, just like some insignificant creature.

Verse 29 (devibhagavatam.8.22.29)

यस्तु संविहितैः पञ्चयज्ञैः काकैश्च संस्तुतः । अश्नाति चासंविभज्य यत्किंञ्चिदुपपद्यते

yastu saṁvihitaiḥ pañcayajñaiḥ kākaiśca saṁstutaḥ | aśnāti cāsaṁvibhajya yatkiṁñcidupapadyate

But he who, without performing the five prescribed daily sacrifices, and without first offering to the crows, eats up whatever food comes to him without sharing it with others,

Verse 30 (devibhagavatam.8.22.30)

स पापपुरुषः क्रूरैर्याम्यैश्च कृमिभोजने । नरकाधमके दुष्टकर्मणा परिपात्यते

sa pāpapuruṣaḥ krūrairyāmyaiśca kṛmibhojane | narakādhamake duṣṭakarmaṇā paripātyate

— that sinful man is cast down by Yama's cruel servants, on account of his own wicked deeds, into the vile hell called Krimibhojana (worm-food),

Verse 31 (devibhagavatam.8.22.31)

लक्षयोजनविस्तीर्णे कृमिकुण्डे भयङ्करे । कृमिरूपं समासाद्य भक्ष्यमाणश्च तैः स्वयम्

lakṣayojanavistīrṇe kṛmikuṇḍe bhayaṅkare | kṛmirūpaṁ samāsādya bhakṣyamāṇaśca taiḥ svayam

— a terrifying pit of worms extending a lakh yojanas, where, taking on the very form of a worm himself, he is devoured by those same worms,

Verse 32 (devibhagavatam.8.22.32)

अप्रत्ताप्रहुतादो यः पातमाप्नोति तत्र वै । यस्तु स्तेयेन च बलाद्धिरण्यं रत्नमेव च

aprattāprahutādo yaḥ pātamāpnoti tatra vai | yastu steyena ca balāddhiraṇyaṁ ratnameva ca

— he who eats food that has been neither given away nor offered in sacrifice attains this very fall. And he who, through theft or by force, seizes gold or gems —

Verse 33 (devibhagavatam.8.22.33)

ब्राह्मणस्यापहरति अन्यस्यापि च कस्यचित् । अनापदि च देवर्षे तममुत्र यमानुगाः

brāhmaṇasyāpaharati anyasyāpi ca kasyacit | anāpadi ca devarṣe tamamutra yamānugāḥ

— from a brahmin or from anyone else, without any real hardship compelling him, O divine sage — that man, Yama's attendants, there in the next world,

Verse 34 (devibhagavatam.8.22.34)

अयस्मयैरग्निपिण्डैः सदृशैर्नित्कुषन्ति च । योऽगम्यां योषितं गच्छेदगम्यं पुरुषं च या

ayasmayairagnipiṇḍaiḥ sadṛśairnitkuṣanti ca | yo'gamyāṁ yoṣitaṁ gacchedagamyaṁ puruṣaṁ ca yā

— pierce and torment him with iron balls glowing like fire. He who approaches a woman forbidden to him, or she who approaches a man forbidden to her,

Verse 35 (devibhagavatam.8.22.35)

तावमुत्रापि कशया ताडयन्तो यमानुगाः । तिग्मया लोहमय्या च सूर्म्याप्यालिङ्गयन्ति तम्

tāvamutrāpi kaśayā tāḍayanto yamānugāḥ | tigmayā lohamayyā ca sūrmyāpyāliṅgayanti tam

— those two, there in the next world, are beaten by Yama's attendants with whips, and the man is made to embrace a sharp, red-hot iron image,

Verse 36 (devibhagavatam.8.22.36)

तां चापि योषितं सूर्म्यालिङ्गयन्ति यमानुगाः । यस्तु सर्वाभिगमनः पुरुषः पापसञ्चयी

tāṁ cāpi yoṣitaṁ sūrmyāliṅgayanti yamānugāḥ | yastu sarvābhigamanaḥ puruṣaḥ pāpasañcayī

— and likewise Yama's attendants make that woman embrace a red-hot iron image. And the man who consorts indiscriminately with all women, heaping up sin,

Verse 37 (devibhagavatam.8.22.37)

निरयेऽमुत्र तं याम्याः शाल्मलीं रोपयन्ति तम् । वज्रकण्टकसंयुक्तां शाल्मलीं तामयस्मयीम्

niraye'mutra taṁ yāmyāḥ śālmalīṁ ropayanti tam | vajrakaṇṭakasaṁyuktāṁ śālmalīṁ tāmayasmayīm

— in that hell there, Yama's servants make him climb the Shalmali tree, that iron Shalmali bristling with thorns hard as thunderbolts,

Verse 38 (devibhagavatam.8.22.38)

राजन्या राजपुरुषा ये वा पाखण्डवर्तिनः । धर्मसेतुं विभिन्दन्ति ते परेत्य गता नराः

rājanyā rājapuruṣā ye vā pākhaṇḍavartinaḥ | dharmasetuṁ vibhindanti te paretya gatā narāḥ

Kshatriyas, royal officials, or those following heresy, who breach the embankment of Dharma — such men, upon departing this life,

Verse 39 (devibhagavatam.8.22.39)

वैतरण्यां पतन्त्येव भिन्नमर्यादपातकाः । नद्यां निरयदुर्गस्य परिखायां च नारद

vaitaraṇyāṁ patantyeva bhinnamaryādapātakāḥ | nadyāṁ nirayadurgasya parikhāyāṁ ca nārada

— those sinners, having transgressed the sacred boundary, fall into the river Vaitarani, O Narada, which forms the very moat of the fortress of hell,

Verse 40 (devibhagavatam.8.22.40)

यादोगणैः समन्तात्तु भक्ष्यमाणा इतस्ततः । नात्मना वियुजन्त्येव नासुभिश्चापि नारद

yādogaṇaiḥ samantāttu bhakṣyamāṇā itastataḥ | nātmanā viyujantyeva nāsubhiścāpi nārada

— where, devoured on every side by hosts of aquatic creatures, they are yet never severed from their own bodies, nor from their very life-breaths, O Narada,

Verse 41 (devibhagavatam.8.22.41)

स्वीयेन कर्मपाकेनोपतपन्ति च सर्वतः । विण्मूत्रपूयरक्तैश्च केशास्थिनखमांसकैः

svīyena karmapākenopatapanti ca sarvataḥ | viṇmūtrapūyaraktaiśca keśāsthinakhamāṁsakaiḥ

— and are scorched on every side by the ripening of their own karma. They fall into a river filled with excrement, urine, pus, blood, hair, bones, nails, and flesh,

Verse 42 (devibhagavatam.8.22.42)

मेदोवसासंयुतायां नद्यामुपपतन्ति ते । वृषलीपतयो ये च नष्टशौचा गतत्रपाः

medovasāsaṁyutāyāṁ nadyāmupapatanti te | vṛṣalīpatayo ye ca naṣṭaśaucā gatatrapāḥ

— mingled with fat and marrow. And there too fall the husbands of low-caste women who, devoid of purity and shame,

Verse 43 (devibhagavatam.8.22.43)

आचारनियमैस्त्यक्ताः पशुचर्यापरायणाः । तेऽत्रानुकष्टगतयो विण्मूत्रश्लेष्मरक्तकैः

ācāraniyamaistyaktāḥ paśucaryāparāyaṇāḥ | te'trānukaṣṭagatayo viṇmūtraśleṣmaraktakaiḥ

— having cast off the rules of right conduct, given over to bestial living — they, meeting a most wretched fate here, sink amid excrement, urine, phlegm, and blood,

Verse 44 (devibhagavatam.8.22.44)

श्लेष्ममलसमापूर्णे निपतन्ति दुराग्रहाः । तदेव खादयन्त्येतान्यमानुचरवर्गकाः

śleṣmamalasamāpūrṇe nipatanti durāgrahāḥ | tadeva khādayantyetānyamānucaravargakāḥ

— those obstinate ones fall into a river full of phlegm and filth; and the hosts of Yama's attendants force them to eat that very filth.

Verse 45 (devibhagavatam.8.22.45)

ये श्वानगर्दभादीनां पतयो वै द्विजातयः । मृगयारसिका नित्यमतीर्थे मृगघातकाः

ye śvānagardabhādīnāṁ patayo vai dvijātayaḥ | mṛgayārasikā nityamatīrthe mṛgaghātakāḥ

Those twice-born who become like masters of dogs and donkeys, who take constant delight in hunting, who slay deer at improper, unsanctioned places,

Verse 46 (devibhagavatam.8.22.46)

परेतांस्तान्यमभटा लक्षीभूतान्नराधमान् । इषुभिश्च विभिन्दन्ति तांस्तान्दुर्नयमागतान्

paretāṁstānyamabhaṭā lakṣībhūtānnarādhamān | iṣubhiśca vibhindanti tāṁstāndurnayamāgatān

— those lowest of men, once dead, become living targets, and Yama's soldiers pierce with arrows those who came there through their own evil conduct.

Verse 47 (devibhagavatam.8.22.47)

ये दम्भा दम्भयज्ञेषु पशून्घ्नन्ति नराधमाः । तानमुष्मिन्यमभटा नरके वैशसे तदा

ye dambhā dambhayajñeṣu paśūnghnanti narādhamāḥ | tānamuṣminyamabhaṭā narake vaiśase tadā

Those hypocritical, base men who slaughter animals in ostentatious, insincere sacrifices — them, in that hell called Vaishasa, Yama's soldiers,

Verse 48 (devibhagavatam.8.22.48)

निपात्य पीडयन्त्येव कशाघातैर्दुरासदैः । यो भार्यां च सवर्णां वै द्विजो मदनमोहितः

nipātya pīḍayantyeva kaśāghātairdurāsadaiḥ | yo bhāryāṁ ca savarṇāṁ vai dvijo madanamohitaḥ

— throw down and torment with unbearable lashes of the whip. The twice-born man who, deluded by lust, forces upon his own caste-equal wife —

Verse 49 (devibhagavatam.8.22.49)

रेतः पाययति मूढोऽमुत्र तं यमकिङ्कराः । रेतःकुण्डे पातयन्ति रेतः सम्पाययन्ति च

retaḥ pāyayati mūḍho'mutra taṁ yamakiṅkarāḥ | retaḥkuṇḍe pātayanti retaḥ sampāyayanti ca

— makes drink his semen, that foolish man — him, there in the next world, Yama's servants cast into a pit of semen, and force him in turn to drink it.

Verse 50 (devibhagavatam.8.22.50)

ये दस्यवोऽग्निदाश्चैव गरदा सार्थघातकाः । ग्रामान्सार्थान्विलुम्पन्ति राजानो राजपूरुषाः

ye dasyavo'gnidāścaiva garadā sārthaghātakāḥ | grāmānsārthānvilumpanti rājāno rājapūruṣāḥ

Those who are bandits, arsonists, poisoners, murderers of caravans, who plunder villages and caravans — and kings and royal officials who do the same —

Verse 51 (devibhagavatam.8.22.51)

तान्परेतान्यमभटा नयन्ति श्वानकादनम् । विंशत्यथिकसङ्ख्याताः सारमेया महाद्भुताः

tānparetānyamabhaṭā nayanti śvānakādanam | viṁśatyathikasaṅkhyātāḥ sārameyā mahādbhutāḥ

— those, once dead, are led by Yama's soldiers to the hell called Sarameyadana ("dog-food"); there, the hounds of Sarama, numbering more than twenty, most fearsome,

Verse 52 (devibhagavatam.8.22.52)

सप्तशत्या समाख्याता रभसं खादयन्ति ते । सारमेयादनं नाम नरकं दारुणं मुने । अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि अवीचिप्रभुखान्मुने

saptaśatyā samākhyātā rabhasaṁ khādayanti te | sārameyādanaṁ nāma narakaṁ dāruṇaṁ mune | ataḥ paraṁ pravakṣyāmi avīciprabhukhānmune

— reckoned by some as seven hundred, they devour those souls ferociously. This, O sage, is the dreadful hell named Sarameyadana. Beyond this, O sage, I shall now describe the hells beginning with Avichi.