Hindu Hell: Visions, Tours and Descriptions of the Infernal Otherworld

102 Pages·2013·3.405 MB·English

by  Eileen Gardiner (ed.)

VISIONS, TOURS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE
INFERNAL OTHERWORLD
EDITED BY
EILEEN GARDINER

HINDU HELL
HELL BOOKS
EILEEN GARDINER, SERIES EDITOR
PUBLISHED
Ancient Near Eastern Hell
Buddhist Hell
Egyptian Hell
Hindu Hell
Zoroastrian Hell
FORTHCOMING
Greek & Roman Hell
Islamic Hell
Judeo-Chistian Hell
HINDU HELL
VISIONS, TOURS ANP DESCRIPTIONS
OF THE INFERNAL OTHERWORLD
SECOND BIO TION
EDITED BY
EILEEN GARDINER
ITALICA
PRESS
ITALICA PRESS
NEW YORK
2013
Copyright © 2013 by Italica Press
ITALICA PRESS, INC.
595 Main Street
New York, New York 10044
[email protected]
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without prior permission of Italica Press. It may not
be used in a course-pak or any other collection without prior
permission of Italica Press.
SUBJECTS: Hell, Hindu Texts, Sanskrit Texts, Vedic Texts.
ISBN: 978-1-59910-282-5
COVER: The Court of Yama, God of Death, circa 1800 Drawing,
Ink and watercolor on paper. South and Southeast Asian Art
Department, Los Angeles County Museum.
For A ComPLeTe List or Irauica Press TITLES
ViIsIT OUR Wgp SITE AT:
WWW. ITALICAPRESS.COM
CONTENTS
WEB RESOURCES Vi
PREFACE Vil
INTRODUCTION 1X
Segmented Hell 1x
Deeds — or Karma — and Punishment
Agency of Punishment xi
Harrowing of Hell Xi
Hell and Reincarnation — or Samsara Xili
Texts Xili
BIBLIOGRAPHY XXV
Sources XXV
Studies & Reference XXxV1
. THE RIG-VEDA
. ATHARVA-VEDA
. THE MAHABHARATA is
THE RAMAYANA 19
THE MARKANDEYA PURANA pai
. THE VAMANA PURANA 27,
THE PADMA PURANA es,
O. C[TNHE DAAGNTI PPUWRNANEA 45
Z 51
O ei to WN
53
GLOSSARY
WEB RESOURCES
AsouTt HInbu HELL
http:/ / www.hell-on-line.org / AboutHIN.html
INTRODUCTION TO THE TEXTS
http:/ /w ww.hell-on-line.org / TextsHIN. html
GLOSSARY
http:/ / www.hell-on-line.org / GlossGEN.html
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http:/ /w ww.hell-on-line.org / BibHIN. html
VI
PREFACE
This anthology of stories and texts from the Hindu
tradition has been compiled to facilitate the study
of Hindu notions of hell. Gathered from a variety of
souces, the selections included here provide a basis
for a comparative overview of the literature on the
otherworld. Many works from this tradition are not
yet available in English, but this small sampling will
provide Western readers with an introduction to this
remarkable body of literature.
This volume includes eight works dating from c.
1500 BCE to c. 1500 CE. The introduction contains a
discussion and an analysis of the various texts, with
comparisons to Western texts and notions about
hell. Also included are a bibliography, glossary and
notes to guide the reader and to provide additional
resources.
Once Western notions of hell are examined in
the light of the older traditions found in Hinduism,
Buddhism and other religious traditions, our
understanding of the meaning and sources for
Western, and particularly Christian, concepts of
punishment in an afterlife must re-evaluated.
The associated website Hell-on-Line.org provides
additional information on hell, its tradition and texts.
The site includes bibliographies, a motif index and
a glossary, as well as other tools to assist readers in
understanding the literature of hell, its historic and
HINDU HELL
critical tradition and its relationship to religious
beliefs.
For help with Hindu Hell I would like to thank
the staff of the New York Public Library, Research
Libraries, Asian and Middle Eastern Division.
VIII