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Talk:Naraka

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Naraka literally means ‘a world which is below;’ ‘a world without joy’.

Naraka Definition[edit]

The humankind has believed in a Super Power whom it denotes as God from the ancient times. He rewards the good and punishes the wicked. The good are those that faithfully follow the Law as given in the Scriptures whereas the wicked are the transgressors. If the good go to heaven to enjoy the fruits of their good deeds, the wicked go to hell to pay through their nose for all their heinous crimes by intense suffering.

References about Naraka[edit]

In the Ṛgveda[1] Yama and Varuṇa are mentioned as the deities supervising over the destinies of human beings after death. The concepts of svarga[2] and naraka[3] are often found in the Upaniṣads. For instance, svarga or svarga-loka is mentioned in the following Upaniṣads:

  1. Aitareya Upaniṣad[4]
  2. Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣads[5]
  3. Chāndogya Upaniṣad[6]
  4. Kathā Upaniṣad[7]

Numbers of Narakas[edit]

Here, ‘svarga’ may not mean only a heaven from where there is a fall after exhausting religious merit. It may, sometimes, mean liberation also as in Brhadāranyaka[8] The word ‘naraka’ has been defined as ‘going below’ or ‘a place where there is not the slightest trace of joy’. The Nirukta quotes a part of a verse from the Ṛgveda[9] wherein the word ‘naraka’ is mentioned. By the time of the smṛtis and dharmaśāstras the concept was fairly well-developed. By summing up the various ideas about naraka or hell, it can be said that Yama[10] rules from his capital city called ‘Sayamanī’ which is grand and beautiful. A part of his capital houses the various narakas[11] to where the condemned sinners are sent. The number of narakas ranges from seven to twenty-one. Later purāṇas have raised this number to 140 or even more.

Classification of Narakas[edit]

Some of the narakas are:

  1. Andhatā-misra - blinding darkness
  2. Tāmisra - darkness
  3. Raurava - abounding in paths with heated surfaces
  4. Mahāvīcī - where one is submerged in surging waves
  5. Tapana - as hot as fire
  6. Kākola - where one is preyed upon by crows
  7. Lohaśaṅku - piercing one with iron nails
  8. Asipatravana - where one is cut up by many sword blades
  9. Kumbhīpāka - putting the sinners into big pots of boiling oil

Special bodies are provided to the sinners after death here in narakas, which cause terrible suffering but do not get destroyed.


References[edit]

  1. ↑ Ṛgveda 10.14.2
  2. ↑ Svarga means heaven.
  3. ↑ Naraka means hell.
  4. ↑ Aitareya Upaniṣad 4.6
  5. ↑ Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.8
  6. ↑ Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.13.6
  7. ↑ Kathā Upaniṣad 1.12
  8. ↑ Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.8
  9. ↑ Ṛgveda 10.106.1
  10. ↑ Yama means the god of death.
  11. ↑ Naraks are the torture-chambers.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore
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