HINDU ENCYCLOPEDIA

सनातन धर्म भूमिका

Meaning of "Naraka"

Word

Naraka

Sanskrit

नरक

IAST

naraka

In General

Hell. Vedic literature mention the world of Swarga which is the dwelling place of Devas but not anything about Naraka. It can be because of the belief in rebirth that swarga-naraka not a serious subject in Hindu literature. But in Garuda Purana the concept of Naraka is dealt with in detail. To Garuda Purana, the Yamadharma raja reign in Naraka and under him the wicked people were punished. After every birth a brief period is spent in Swarga or Naraka and the rebirth is awarded only after this period.

Veda

The Veda talk about only the positive concepts and things only and thus do not have the concept of Hell

Purana

According to Garuda Purana cosmology there are many hells where one is forced to enter for his karma in the previous birth. The soul released from body is called preta. This preta should take a long journey to Hell which is very tiresome and painful. The death ceremonies are done to make this journey easy for the preta.

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