Naraka ( sa, नरक; pi, 𑀦𑀺𑀭𑀬 Niraya) is a term in

Buddhist cosmology Buddhist cosmology describes the planes and realms in which beings can be reborn. The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, into which beings are reborn due to their merits and development; and a hori ...

usually referred to in English as "

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

" (or "hell realm") or "

purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...

". The Narakas of Buddhism are closely related to ''

Diyu Diyu () is the realm of the dead or " hell" in Chinese mythology. It is loosely based on a combination of the Buddhist concept of Naraka, traditional Chinese beliefs about the afterlife, and a variety of popular expansions and reinterpretations ...

'', the hell in

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

. A Naraka differs from the hell of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in two respects: firstly, beings are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment or punishment; and secondly, the length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually incomprehensibly long, from hundreds of millions to sextillions (10²¹) of years. A being is born into a Naraka as a direct result of its accumulated actions (

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

) and resides there for a finite period of time until that karma has achieved its full result. After its karma is used up, it will be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of karma that had not yet ripened. In the Devaduta Sutta, the 130th discourse of Majjhima Nikaya, the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

teaches about hell in vivid detail. Physically, Narakas are thought of as a series of cavernous layers which extend below

Jambudvīpa Jambudvīpa ( sa, जम्बुद्वीप; Pali: Jambudīpa) is a name often used to describe the territory of Greater India in Ancient Indian sources. The term is based on the concept of '' dvīpa'', meaning "island" or "continent" i ...

(the ordinary human world) into the earth. There are several schemes for enumerating these Narakas and describing their torments. The '' Abhidharma-kosa'' (''Treasure House of Higher Knowledge'') is the root text that describes the most common scheme, as the Eight Cold Narakas and Eight Hot Narakas.

Cold Narakas

*''Arbuda'' (), the "blister" Naraka, is a dark, frozen plain surrounded by icy mountains and continually swept by blizzards. Inhabitants of this world arise fully grown and abide lifelong naked and alone, while the cold raises blisters upon their bodies. The length of life in this Naraka is said to be the time it would take to empty a barrel of

sesame seed Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

s if one only took out a single seed every hundred years. *''Nirarbuda'' (), the "burst blister" Naraka, is even colder than Arbuda. There, the blisters burst open, leaving the beings' bodies covered with frozen blood and pus. *''Aṭaṭa'' () is the "shivering" Naraka. There, beings shiver in the cold, making an ' sound with their mouths. *''Hahava'' (;) is the "lamentation" Naraka. There, the beings lament in the cold, going ''haa, haa'' in pain. *''Huhuva'' (), the "chattering teeth" Naraka, is where beings shiver as their teeth chatter, making the sound ''hu, hu''. *''Utpala'' () is the "blue lotus" Naraka. The intense cold there makes the skin turn blue like the colour of an ''

utpala Utpala in Sanskrit is a neuter noun with two meanings, both given by '' '' (a lexicon of circa. 400 AD). The first meaning is ''Nymphaea caerulea'', the "blue lotus", also known as ''kuvalaya'' in Sanskrit. The second meaning of ''utpala'' is a ...

'' waterlily. *''Padma'' (), the "lotus" Naraka, has blizzards that crack open frozen skin, leaving one raw and bloody. *''Mahāpadma'' () is the "great lotus" Naraka. The entire body cracks into pieces and the internal organs are exposed to the cold, also cracking.

Hot Narakas

#''Sañjīva'' (), the "reviving" Naraka, has ground made of hot iron heated by an immense fire. Beings in this Naraka appear fully grown, already in a state of fear and misery. As soon as the being begins to fear being harmed by others, their fellows appear and attack each other with iron claws and hell guards appear and attack the being with fiery weapons. As soon as the being experiences an unconsciousness like death, they are suddenly restored to full health and the attacks begin again. Other tortures experienced in this Naraka include: having molten metal dropped upon them, being sliced into pieces, and suffering from the heat of the iron ground. It is said to be 1,000 ''

yojana A yojana (Sanskrit: योजन; th, โยชน์; my, ယူဇနာ) is a measure of distance that was used in ancient India, Thailand and Myanmar. A yojana is about 12–15 km. Edicts of Ashoka (3rd century BCE) Ashoka, in his Major R ...

s'' beneath

and 10,000 ''yojanas'' in each direction (a ''yojana'' being 7 miles, or 11 kilometres). #''Kālasūtra'' (), the "black thread" Naraka, includes the torments of Sañjīva. In addition, black lines are drawn upon the body, which hell guards use as guides to cut the beings with fiery saws and sharp axes. #''Saṃghāta'' (), the "crushing" Naraka, is surrounded by huge masses of rock that smash together and crush the beings to a bloody jelly. When the rocks move apart again, life is restored to the being and the process starts again. #''Raurava'' (), the "screaming" Naraka, is where beings run wildly about, looking for refuge from the burning ground. When they find an apparent shelter, they are locked inside it as it blazes around them, while they scream inside. #''Mahāraurava'' (), the "great screaming" Naraka, is similar to Raurava. Punishment here is for people who maintain their own body by hurting others. In this hell, ruru animals known as kravyāda torment them and eat their flesh. #''Tapana'' () is the "heating" Naraka, where hell guards impale beings on a fiery spear until flames issue from their noses and mouths. #''Pratāpana'' (), the "great heating" Naraka. The tortures here are similar to the Tapana Naraka, but the beings are pierced more bloodily with a trident. Life in this Naraka is said to last for the length of half an '' antarakalpa''. # Avīci () is the "uninterrupted" Naraka. Beings are roasted in an immense blazing oven with terrible suffering. Life in this Naraka is said to last for the length of an '' antarakalpa''. Each lifetime in these Narakas is eight times the length of the one before it. Some sources describe five hundred or even hundreds of thousands of different Narakas. The sufferings of the dwellers in Naraka often resemble those of the

Preta Preta ( sa, प्रेत, bo, ཡི་དྭགས་ ''yi dags''), also known as hungry ghost, is the Sanskrit name for a type of supernatural being described in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion as undergoing suffer ...

s, and the two types of being are easily confused. The simplest distinction is that beings in Naraka are confined to their subterranean world, while the Pretas are free to move about. There are also isolated and boundary hells called ''Pratyeka'' Narakas (

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

: Pacceka-niraya) and ''Lokantarikas''.

In Buddhist literature

The ''Dīrghāgama'' or ''Longer Āgama-sūtra'' (Ch. cháng āhán jīng ), was translated to Chinese in 22 fascicles from an Indic original by Buddhayaśas (Fotuoyeshe ) and Zhu Fonian in 412–13 CE. This literature contains 30 discrete scriptures in four groups (''vargas''). The fourth ''varga'', which pertains to Buddhist cosmology, contains a "Chapter on Hell" (dìyù pǐn ) within the ''Scripture of the Account of the World'' (shìjì jīng ). In this text, the Buddha describes to the sangha each of the hells in great detail, beginning with their physical location and names:

The Buddha told the ''bhikṣus'', There are 8,000 continents surrounding the four continents
n earth N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...
There is, moreover, a great sea surrounding those 8,000 continents. There is, moreover, a great diamond mountain range encircling that great sea. Beyond this great diamond mountain range is yet another great diamond mountain range. And between the two mountain ranges lies darkness. The sun and moon in the divine sky with their great power are unable to reach that arknesswith their light. In hat space between the two diamond mountain rangesthere are eight major hells. Along with each major hell are sixteen smaller hells. The first major hell is called ''Thoughts''. The second is called ''Black Rope''. The third is called ''Crushing''. The fourth is called ''Moaning''. The fifth is called ''Great Moaning''. The sixth is called ''Burning''. The seventh is called ''Great Burning''. The eighth is called ''Unremitting''. The ''Hell of Thoughts'' contains sixteen smaller hells. The smaller hells are 500 square ''
yojana A yojana (Sanskrit: योजन; th, โยชน์; my, ယူဇနာ) is a measure of distance that was used in ancient India, Thailand and Myanmar. A yojana is about 12–15 km. Edicts of Ashoka (3rd century BCE) Ashoka, in his Major R ...
'' in area. The first small hell is called ''Black Sand''. The second hell is called ''Boiling Excrement''. The third is called ''Five Hundred Nails''. The fourth is called ''Hunger''. The fifth is called ''Thirst''. The sixth is called ''Single Copper Cauldron''. The seventh is called ''Many Copper Cauldrons''. The eighth is called ''Stone Pestle''. The ninth is called ''Pus and Blood''. The tenth is called ''Measuring Fire''. The eleventh is called ''Ash River.'' The twelfth is called ''Iron Pellets''. The thirteenth is called ''Axes and Hatchets''. The fourteenth is called ''Jackals and Wolves''. The fifteenth is called ''Sword Cuts''. The sixteenth is called ''Cold and Ice''.

Further evidence supporting the importance of these texts discussing hells lies in Buddhists' further investigation of the nature of hell and its denizens. Buddhavarman's fifth century Chinese translation of the ''Abhidharma-vibhāṣā-śāstra'' (Ch. āpídámó pípóshā lùn ) questions whether hell wardens who torture hell beings are themselves sentient beings, what form they take, and what language they speak. Xuanzang's seventh century Chinese translation of the ''Abhidharmakośa śāstra'' (Ch. āpídámó jùshè lùn ) too is concerned with whether hell wardens are sentient beings, as well as how they go on to receive karmic retribution, whether they create bad karma at all, and why are they not physically affected and burned by the fires of hell. Descriptions of the Narakas are a common subject in some forms of Buddhist commentary and popular literature as cautionary tales against the fate that befalls evildoers and an encouragement to virtue. The

Mahāyāna ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhism, Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BC ...

Sūtra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

of the bodhisattva (Dìzàng or Jizō) graphically describes the sufferings in Naraka and explains how ordinary people can transfer

merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Christianity) * Merit (Buddhism) * Punya (Hinduism) * Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria * Merit Energy Company, ...

in order to relieve the sufferings of the beings there. The Japanese monk

Genshin , also known as , was the most influential of a number of scholar-monks of the Buddhist Tendai sect active during the tenth and eleventh centuries in Japan. Genshin, who was trained in both esoteric and exoteric teachings, wrote a number of tre ...

began his ''

Ōjōyōshū The was an influential medieval Buddhist text composed in 985 by the Japanese Buddhist monk Genshin. Three volumes in length and in kanbun prose, the text is a comprehensive analysis of Buddhist practices related to rebirth in the Pure Land of A ...

'' with a description of the suffering in Naraka.

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

Lamrim Lamrim (Tibetan: "stages of the path") is a Tibetan Buddhist textual form for presenting the stages in the complete path to enlightenment as taught by Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of ''lamrim'', pres ...

texts also included a similar description. Chinese Buddhist texts considerably enlarged upon the description of Naraka (

), detailing additional Narakas and their punishments, and expanding the role of

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities ...

and his helpers,

Ox-Head and Horse-Face Ox-Head () and Horse-Face () are two guardians or types of guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology. As indicated by their names, both have the bodies of men, but Ox-Head has the head of an ox while Horse-Face has the face of a horse. Th ...

. In these texts, Naraka became an integral part of the otherworldly bureaucracy which mirrored the imperial Chinese administration.

Gallery

Notes

External links

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{{Hell Buddhist cosmology Judgment in religion

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Buddhist philosophical concepts