Crime and Punishment – The Hindu way! Part 2

(10) Krimibhojanam (Food for worms) – Depraved Brahmans who take their food without worshipping gods and honoring guests, are thrown into this “Krimibhojana” Naraka which is one lakh yojanas in extent. Worms, insects and serpents sting them and eat them up. Once their bodies are completely eaten up by these creatures, they are provided with new bodies, which are also eaten up in the above manner. They have to continue there in this manner, till the end of their term of punishment.

(11) Taptamurti – Those who plunder or steal other people’s gold, jewels, ornaments or money are cast into the furnaces of this Naraka, which is built of iron and always remains red hot with blazing fire.

(12) Salmali – This Naraka is intended for men and women who have committed adultery. A figure made of iron, heated red-hot is placed there. The victim is urged to embrace it. Yama’s servants flog the victim from behind.

(13) Vajrakantakasali – This Naraka is for the punishment of those who have unnatural intercourse with cows and other animals. Here, the guilty people are made to embrace iron images full of diamond needles.

(14) Vaitarani – This is the Naraka for Kings who have violated all ordinances of Sastras and for adulterers. It is the most terrible place of punishment. Vaitarani is a river filled with human excreta, urine, blood, hair, bones, nails, flesh, fat and all kinds of dirty substances. There are various kinds of ferocious beasts in it. Those who are cast into it are attacked and mauled by these creatures from all sides. The sinners have to spend the term of their punishment, feeding upon the contents of this river.

(15) Puyodakam – This is a well, filled with excreta, urine, blood, phlegm etc. Brahmans and others who have intercourse with women of low caste against customs, ordinances etc. vagabonds who wander about irresponsibly like animals and birds and other such sinners are cast into this Naraka.

(16) Pranarodham – This Naraka is for the punishment of Brahmans who keep dogs, asses and other mean animals and constantly hunt and kill animals for food. Here the servants of Yama gather round the sinners and cut them limb by limb with their arrows and subject them to constant insult.

(17) Visasanam – This Naraka is for the torture of those who perform Yagya by killing cows to display their wealth and splendor. They will have to remain there during the whole term of their punishment under the constant flogging of Yama’s servants.

(18) Lalabhaksam – This is the Naraka for lustful people. The lascivious fellow, who makes his wife swallow semen, is cast into this hell. Lalabhaksam is a sea of semen. The sinner lies in it feeding upon semen alone.

(19) Sarameyasanam – Those guilty of unsocial acts like incendiarism, poisoning food, mass slaughter, ruining the country, etc. are cast into the Naraka called Sarameyasana. There, nothing but the flesh of dogs is available for food. There are 700 dogs in that Naraka and all of them are as ferocious as leopards. They attack the sinners who come there from all sides and tear their flesh from their bodies with their teeth.

(20) Avici – This Naraka is for those guilty of bearing false witness, false swearing or assuming false names. They are hurled into Avici from a mountain which is 100 yojanas in height. The whole region of Avici is always shaken like an ocean with turbulent waves. As soon as the sinners fall into it they are utterly smashed into dust. They are again restored to life and the punishment is repeated.

(21) Ayahpanam – Those who belong to the first three castes viz. Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas who indulge in drinking Soma, Sura etc. are bound and thrown into this hell. They are forced to drink melted iron in liquid form.

(22) Ksharakardamam – Braggarts and those who insult people of noble birth are cast into this hell. Here, Yama’s servants keep the sinners upside down and torture them in various ways.

(23) Raksobhaksam – This Naraka is for the punishment of meat-eaters. There are separate compartments in this hell for those who perform human sacrifice, eat human flesh or the flesh of other creatures. All the living beings they had killed before would have arrived here in advance. They would all join together in attacking, biting and mauling these sinners. Their shrieks and complaints would be of no avail there.

(24) Sulaprotam – People who take the life of others who have done no harm to them, by deceiving them or by treachery, with weapons like the trident, are thrown into the “Sulaprotam” hell. Yama’s servants fix each of the sinners of the above class, on the top of a trident. They are forced to spend the whole term of their punishment in that position, suffering intense thirst and hunger, enduring all the tortures inflicted on them by Yama’s servants.

(25) Dandasukam – Sinners who persecute fellow creatures like venomous serpents are cast into this Naraka. There are many wild beasts and many hooded serpents here. They eat alive, the sinners who fall into this hell.

(26) Vatarodham – This hell is for those who persecute the creatures living on mountain-peaks, dense forests, hollow trunks of trees, etc. It resembles mountains, caves, forests etc. After throwing them into this hell the sinners are tortured with fire, snake, poison and weapons, just as they had tortured other creatures, while on earth.

(27) Paryavartanakam – One who denies food to a person, who happens to come at meal- time and abuses him, is thrown into this Naraka. The moment he falls into it, his eyes are put out by being pierced with the beaks of cruel birds like the crow, eagle etc. It is the most painful experience for them.

(28) Sucimukham – Proud and miserly people who refuse to spend money even for the bare necessities of life, find their place in this hell. Those who do not repay the money they have borrowed will also be cast into this hell. Here, their bodies will be continually pricked and pierced with needles.

It is time for all of us to sit back and review our own life and see in which ‘Naraka’ we will be falling after death. Depending upon the crime(s) may be we have to spend time in multiple Narakas before our term is over. Isn’t it frightening?

It is interesting to compare Islamic penal code and Hindu Narakas for its severity of punishment. The only difference is that in Islamic code, one is punished while alive in this world and in Hindu code; it is after death and before your next birth. Well, we can decide which is harsh and severe to bear.

Islamic Penal Code of Iran

1.The penalty for adultery in the following cases shall be death, regardless of the age or marital status of the culprit: (1) Adultery with one’s consanguineous relatives (close blood relatives forbidden to each other by religious law); (2) Adultery with one’s stepmother in which the adulterer’s punishment shall be death; (3) Adultery between a non-Muslim man and a Muslim woman, in which case the adulterer (non-Muslim man) shall receive the death penalty; (4) Forcible rape, in which case the rapist shall receive the death penalty.

2. Adultery in the following cases shall be punishable by stoning: (1) Adultery by a married man who is wedded to a permanent wife with whom he has had intercourse and may have intercourse when he so desires; (2) Adultery of a married woman with an adult man provided the woman is permanently married and has had intercourse with her husband and is able to do so again.

3. Adultery of a married woman with a minor is punishable by flogging.

4. Defloration of a virgin by insertion of a finger that results in incontinence shall entitle the victim to her full blood money plus a sum equal to her potential dowry.

5. Punishment for sodomy is killing; the Sharia judge decides on how to carry out the killing.

6. The punishment for intoxication is 80 lashes for both men and women.

7. Insulting, such as swearing or using profane language should be punished by flogging up to 74 lashes or a fine of 50,000 to 1,000,000 Ryal.

8. Any man and woman who are not married and who commit a crime against public morality, excluding adultery, should be sentenced to flogging (99 lashes). If one of them did not consent to the crime, then only the one who initiated the crime should be punished.