# Naraka > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Naraka > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Naraka.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naraka > Source revision: 1345732558 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Hell in Indian religions}} {{about||the mythological dynasty|Bhauma dynasty|the video game|Naraka: Bladepoint}} [[File:Angkor Wat - Heaven and Hell1.jpg|thumb|[Angkor Wat](/source/Angkor_Wat) bas-relief depicts spirits of the dead being laid on fire in Naraka.]] '''Naraka''' ({{langx|sa|नरक}}) is the realm of [hell](/source/hell) in [Indian religions](/source/Indian_religions). According to schools of [Hinduism](/source/Hinduism), [Jainism](/source/Jainism), and [Buddhism](/source/Buddhism), ''Naraka'' is a place of torment. The word ''Neraka'' (modification of ''Naraka'') in [Indonesian](/source/Indonesian_language) and [Malaysian](/source/Malaysian_language) has also been used to describe the [Islamic concept of Hell](/source/Jahannam). Naraka was also a [Khmer](/source/Khmer_language) word for hell in [Cambodia](/source/Cambodia).Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew ''A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in Singapore: From Colonialism to Nationalism'' Palgrave Macmillan, 29 Nov 2012 {{ISBN|9781137012333}} p. 195 Alternatively, the "hellish beings" that are said to reside in this underworld are often referred to as ''Narakas''. These beings are also termed in [Sanskrit](/source/Sanskrit) as ''Narakiyas'' ({{langx|sa|नारकीय}}, {{Transliteration|sa|Nārakīya}}), ''Narakarnavas'' ({{langx|sa|नरकार्णव}}, {{Transliteration|sa|Narakārṇava}}), and ''Narakavasis'' ({{langx|sa|नरकवासी}}, {{Transliteration|sa|Narakavāsī}}). The [Khmer Empire](/source/Khmer_Empire) had blended with [Buddhism](/source/Buddhism_in_Cambodia) and [Hinduism](/source/Hinduism_in_Cambodia) which understands and represents the concept of Naraka which referred to realm of torment and suffering, often depicted as hell with its integration of worldviews. ==Hinduism== {{main|Naraka (Hinduism)}} thumb|A large central panel portrays Yama the god of death (often referred to as Dharma) seated on a throne; to the left stands a demon. To the right of Yama sits Chitragupta, assigned with keeping detailed records of every human being and upon their death deciding how they are to be reincarnated, depending on their previous actions. Naraka is a realm in the [Vedas](/source/Vedas), a place where souls are sent for the expiation of their sins. It is mentioned primarily in the [Dharmashastra](/source/dharma%C5%9B%C4%81stra)s, [Itihasa](/source/itih%C4%81sa)s, and the [Puranas](/source/Puranas), but also described in the [Vedic samhitas](/source/Vedas),Śukla Yajur Veda 30.5Atharva Veda 12.4.36 the [Aranyaka](/source/Aranyaka)s{{IAST|Aitareya Āraṇyaka}} 2.3.2.4,5 and the [Upanishads](/source/Upanishads).{{IAST|Mahanārāyaṇa Upaniṣad}} 1.50{{IAST|Praśna Upaniṣad}} 3{{IAST|Nirālamba Upaniṣad}} 2, 17{{IAST|Paramahaṃsa Upaniṣad}} 3 Some Upanishads speak of 'darkness' instead of hell.''{{IAST|asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ}}'' – {{IAST|Īśa Upaniṣad}} 3 A summary of the Upanishads and the [Bhagavad Gita](/source/Bhagavad_Gita) mentions hell several times.1.41, 1.43, 16.16, 16.21 [Adi Sankara](/source/Adi_Sankara) also mentions it in his commentary on the [Vedanta sutra](/source/Brahma_Sutras).Vedānta sūtra 4.3.14 With the exception of the views of one Hindu philosopher, [Madhva](/source/Madhva), it is not seen as a place of eternal [damnation](/source/damnation) within [Hinduism](/source/Hinduism).[Helmuth von Glasenapp](/source/Helmuth_von_Glasenapp): Der Hinduismus. Religion und Gesellschaft im heutigen Indien, Hildesheim 1978, p. 248. In Puranas like [Bhagavata Purana](/source/Bhagavata_Purana), [Garuda Purana](/source/Garuda_Purana), and [Vishnu Purana](/source/Vishnu_Purana), there are elaborate descriptions of many hells. They are situated above the [Garbhodaka Ocean](/source/Causal_Ocean).{{IAST|Bhāgavata Purāṇa}} 5.26.5 The Vishnu Purana mentions the names of the various Narakas:{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2014-08-30 |title=Account of the different hells, or divisions of Naraka [Chapter VI] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/vishnu-purana-wilson/d/doc115966.html |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}} {{Blockquote|text=The names of the different Narakas are as follows: Raurava, Śūkara, Rodha, Tāla, Viśasana, Mahājvāla, Taptakumbha, Lavaṇa, Vimohana, Rudhirāndha, Vaitaranī, Krimīśa, Krimibhojana, Asipatravana, Kṛṣṇa, Lālābhakṣa, Dāruṇa, Pūyavāha, Pāpa, Vahnijvāla, Adhośiras, Sandansa, Kālasūtra, Tamas, Avīci, Śvabhojana, Apratiṣṭha, and another Avīci. These and many other fearful hells are the awful provinces of the kingdom of Yama, terrible with instruments of torture and with fire; into which are hurled all those who are addicted when alive to sinful practices.|title=[Vishnu Purana](/source/Vishnu_Purana)|source=Book 2, Chapter 6}} [Yama](/source/Yama_(Hinduism)), the god of death and justice, judges living beings after their [death](/source/death) and assigns appropriate punishments. For instance, the murderer of a [Brahman](/source/Brahmin), the stealer of gold, or a drinker of wine goes to the hell termed as ''Shukara'', meaning swine.{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2014-08-30 |title=Account of the different hells, or divisions of Naraka [Chapter VI] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/vishnu-purana-wilson/d/doc115966.html |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}} According to some [Vedanta](/source/Vedanta) schools of thought, [Nitya-samsarins](/source/Nitya-samsarins) (forever transmigrating ones) can experience Naraka for [expiation](/source/expiation).''Bhakti Schools of Vedanta'', by Swami Tapasyananda After the period of punishment is complete, they are reborn on earth{{IAST|Bhāgavata Purāṇa}} 5.26.37 in human or bestial bodies.{{IAST|Garuḍa Purāṇa}} 2.10.88–89, 2.46.9–10,28 Therefore, Naraka is not an abode of everlasting punishment. ''Yama Loka'' is the abode of Yama. Yama is also referred to as the ''Dharmaraja,'' or the king of dharma; Yama Loka may be compared to a temporary ''purgatorium'' for sinners (papi). According to Hindu scriptures, Yama's divine assistant, [Chitragupta](/source/Chitragupta), maintains a record of the individual deeds of every living being in the world, and based on the complete audit of their deeds, dispatches the soul of the deceased either to [Svarga](/source/Svarga) (Heaven), or to the various Narakas, according to the nature of their sins. The scriptures describe that even people who have done a majority of good deeds could come to Yama Loka for redemption from the minor sins they have committed, and once the punishments have been served for those sins, they could be sent for rebirth to earth or to heaven. At the time of death, [sin](/source/sin)ful souls are vulnerable for capture by Yamaduttas, servants of Yama (who comes personally only in special cases). According to the [Bhagavata Purana](/source/Bhagavata_Purana), Yama orders his servants to leave [Vaishnava](/source/Vaishnava)s alone.{{IAST|Bhāgavata Purāṇa}} 6.3{{IAST|Nṛsiṃha Purāṇa}} 9.1–2 [Sri Vaishnavas](/source/Sri_Vaishnavism) are taken by Vishnuduttas to [Vaikuntha](/source/Vaikuntha), and [Gaudiya Vaishnavas](/source/Gaudiya_Vaishnavism) to [Goloka](/source/Goloka).{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} ==Buddhism== {{Main|Naraka (Buddhism)}} [[File:Buddhist-hell-Thailand-3.jpg|thumb|A mural from a temple in northern Thailand. The unclothed spirits of the dead are brought before [Yama](/source/Yama_(Buddhism_and_Chinese_mythology)) for judgement. In the background, Mālaya (พระมาลัย) watches from above as sinners are fried in a large oil cauldron.]] In Buddhism, Naraka refers to the worlds of greatest suffering. [Buddhist texts](/source/Buddhist_texts) describe a vast array of tortures and realms of torment in Naraka; an example is the ''Devadūta-sutta'' from the [Pāli Canon](/source/P%C4%81li_Canon). The descriptions vary from text to text and are not always consistent with each other. Though the term is often translated as "hell", unlike the Abrahamic hells, Naraka is not eternal, though when a timescale is given, it is suggested to be extraordinarily long. There is not inherently any [God](/source/God) required to be involved in determining a being's entry and exit to and from the realm. Rather, the mind ends up here—as is the case with all the other realms in the [Buddhist cosmology](/source/Buddhist_cosmology)—by natural law: the law of [karma](/source/Karma_(Buddhism)), and they remain until the negative karma that brought them there has been used up. ==Jainism== {{Main|Naraka (Jainism)}} In Jainism, Naraka is the name given to realm of existence in [Jain cosmology](/source/Jain_cosmology) having great suffering. The length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually very long—measured in billions of years. A soul is born into a Naraka as a direct result of its previous [karma](/source/Karma_in_Jainism) (actions of body, speech, and mind), and resides there for a finite length of time until its karma has achieved its full result. After its karma is used up, it may be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of an earlier karma that had not yet ripened. Jain texts mention that these hells are situated in the seven grounds at the lower part of the universe. The seven grounds are: # Ratna prabha # Sharkara prabha # Valuka prabha # Panka prabha # Dhuma prabha # Tamaha prabha # Mahatamaha prabha ==See also== *[Shurangama Sutra](/source/Shurangama_Sutra) – Volume 6, Chapter 5: The Twelve Categories of Living Beings *[Zamhareer](/source/Zamhareer) – Cold hell in [Islam](/source/Islam) *[List of numbers in Hindu scriptures](/source/List_of_numbers_in_Hindu_scriptures) *[Contrapasso](/source/Contrapasso) – the concept of hell as a reflection of the sinners' offences in life ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.godrealized.com/Naraka.html Definition at godrealized.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724090103/http://www.godrealized.com/Naraka.html |date=2022-07-24 }} * [http://www.unusual-travel-destinations.com/Wat_Thawet.html ''Wat Thawet Buddhist Learning Garden''] Feature Article {{Hell}} Category:Naraka Category:Conceptions of hell --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Naraka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naraka) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naraka?action=history)). 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