The word naraka
is a commonly used Sanskrit word. It is used by
people, who do not even know Sanskrit, as it is present in almost every Indian
language. The widely used meaning of the word naraka is hell. However, it is
necessary to see the other meanings and the origins of this Sanskrit word.
Sanskrit is a classical language like Greek, Latin, and Persian. And in
Sanskrit, as in most classical languages, most words are derived from a stem or
root.
The word naraka is derived from the
root word nri by adding the suffix vun. The root word nri means to lead. The word naraka means the place where a human being’s head is, demon,
hell, the infernal regions including a number of places
of torture of various descriptions, the name of a demon, a liquor vessel, king
of Pragjyotisha, son of Anrita and Nirriti or Nirkriti, son of Vishnu and
Bhumi, son of Vipra and Chitti, name of a place of pilgrimage, another name of
Raurava, and a nephew of Hiranyakashipu.
Various texts of Sanatana Dharma give detailed descriptions of people who
go to naraka. A false witness, one who wrongly takes sides, a
liar, killer of an embryo, killer of a cow, killer of a brahmana, gold thief,
insulter of one’s guru, insulter of the Vedas, thief, insulter of gods,
insulter of ancestors, insulter of guest, supporter of evil, non-performer of
scriptural duties, burner of house, killer of friend, adulterer, and one who causes great harm to
people physically or mentally goes to naraka.
There are
various descriptions of naraka in the Hindu scriptures: ‘A person going to naraka is forcefully bound
by the snare of the messengers of the lord of death, Yama and is thrown into
the nether worlds for thousands of years. In these worlds, Yama’s servants beat
and torture the person going to naraka. This tribulation leads that person to attain deeper
spheres of naraka. After suffering a
great deal in these lower worlds, that person again attains to human birth. In that human birth too, that person suffers from
various ailments and ill-fame. That person is hated by all living beings and
only one’s family is available for succour. That person is constantly engaged
in evildoings and falls into blinding depths of nether worlds. Ignorance makes
human beings act in this careless manner.
The persons
going to naraka fall into depths of naraka and are consumed by unending
suffering. These persons indiscriminately
kill other living beings for filling their stomachs. Yama orders these people
to be thrown into deeper spheres of naraka. A hater of cow will be
masticated by Yama’s servants for one thousand years for every hair of that
cow. A king who punishes innocent people and beats virtuous people like the
brahmanas would be tortured in a darker sphere of naraka by Yama’s servants.’
Jaina, Sikh, and Buddhist texts also have detailed descriptions of naraka. Buddhist texts have
graphic descriptions of naraka and describe how a person can return to human birth by
performing virtuous actions. Buddhist texts take recourse to terrible
descriptions of naraka to encourage ethical behaviour.
Author is
Editor Prabuddha Bharata. The Balabodha
series as written is a glossary of words and not an article.
To read all
articles by the Author
This article
was first published in the July 2020 issue of Prabuddha Bharata, monthly journal of The Ramakrishna Order started by
Swami Vivekananda in 1896. This article is courtesy and copyright Prabuddha
Bharata. I have been reading the Prabuddha Bharata for years and found it
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