Hell

5/5/2015 Hell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Medieval illustration of Hell in theHortus deliciarum manuscript ofHerrad of Landsberg (about 1180)

Hell - detail from a fresco in themedieval church St. Nicolas inRaduil, Bulgaria

HellFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In many mythological, folklore and religious traditions, hell is aplace of torment and punishment in an afterlife. It is viewed by mostAbrahamic traditions as punishment.[1] Religions with a lineardivine history often depict hells as eternal destinations. Religionswith a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary periodbetween incarnations. Typically these traditions locate hell inanother dimension or under the Earth's surface and often includeentrances to Hell from the land of the living. Other afterlifedestinations include Heaven, Purgatory, Paradise, and Limbo.

Other traditions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place ofpunishment or reward, merely describe hell as an abode of the dead,the grave, a neutral place located under the surface of Earth (forexample, see sheol and Hades). Hell is sometimes portrayed aspopulated with demons who torment those dwelling there. Many areruled by a death god such as Nergal, Hades, Hel, Enma or the Devil.

Contents1 Etymology and Germanic mythology2 Religion, mythology, and folklore

2.1 Punishment2.2 Polytheism

2.2.1 Ancient Egypt2.2.2 Ancient Near East2.2.3 Greek2.2.4 Europe2.2.5 Asia2.2.6 Africa2.2.7 Oceania2.2.8 Native American

2.3 Abrahamic2.3.1 Judaism2.3.2 Christianity2.3.3 Islam2.3.4 Bah' Faith

2.4 Eastern2.4.1 Buddhism2.4.2 Hinduism2.4.3 Jainism2.4.4 Taoism2.4.5 Chinese folk beliefs

2.5 Other2.5.1 Zoroastrianism2.5.2 Wicca

3 Literature4 See also



Hel (1889) by JohannesGehrts.

A vision of Hell fromDantes Divine Comedy.Illustration by Gustave Dor.

4 See also5 References6 Further reading7 External links

Etymology and Germanic mythologyThe modern English word Hell is derived from Old English hel, helle (about725 AD to refer to a nether world of the dead) reaching into the Anglo-Saxon pagan period, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *halja, meaning"one who covers up or hides something".[2] The word has cognates in relatedGermanic languages such as Old Frisian helle, hille, Old Saxon hellja,Middle Dutch helle (modern Dutch hel), Old High German helle (ModernGerman Hlle), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish helvede/helvete (hel + OldNorse vitti, "punishment" whence the Icelandic vti "hell"), and Gothichalja.[2] Subsequently, the word was used to transfer a pagan concept toChristian theology and its vocabulary[2] (however, for the Judeo-Christianorigin of the concept see Gehenna).

Some have theorized that English word hell is derived from Old Norsehel.[2] However, this is very unlikely as hel appears in Old English beforethe Viking invasions. Furthermore, the word has cognates in all the otherGermanic languages and has a Proto-Germanic origin.[3] Among othersources, the Poetic Edda, compiled from earlier traditional sources in the13th century, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by SnorriSturluson, provide information regarding the beliefs of the Norse pagans,including a being named Hel, who is described as ruling over an underworldlocation of the same name.

Religion, mythology, and folkloreHell appears in several mythologies and religions. It is commonly inhabitedby demons and the souls of dead people. A fable about hell which recurs infolklore across several cultures is the allegory of the long spoons. Hell isoften depicted in art and literature, perhaps most famously in Dante's DivineComedy.

Punishment

Punishment in Hell typically corresponds to sins committed during life. Sometimes these distinctions arespecific, with damned souls suffering for each sin committed (see for example Plato's myth of Er or Dante'sThe Divine Comedy), but sometimes they are general, with condemned sinners relegated to one or morechamber of Hell or to a level of suffering.



Lucifer - torturing souls aswell as being torturedhimself in hell. Les TrsRiches Heures du duc deBerry, by the Limbourgbrothers.

In many religious cultures, including Christianity and Islam, Hell is traditionally depicted as fiery andpainful, inflicting guilt and suffering.[4] Despite these common depictions of Hell as a place of fire, someother traditions portray Hell as cold. Buddhist - and particularly Tibetan Buddhist - descriptions of hellfeature an equal number of hot and cold hells. Among Christian descriptions Dante's Inferno portrays theinnermost (9th) circle of Hell as a frozen lake of blood and guilt.[5] But cold also played a part in earlierChristian depictions of hell, beginning with the Apocalypse of Paul, originally from the early thirdcentury;[6] the "Vision of Dryhthelm" by the Venerable Bede from the seventh century;[7] "St Patrick'sPurgatory", "The Vision of Tundale" or "Visio Tnugdali", and the "Vision of the Monk of Enysham", allfrom the twelfth century;[8] and the "Vision of Thurkill" from the early thirteenth century.[9]

Polytheism

Ancient Egypt

With the rise of the cult of Osiris during the Middle Kingdom the"democratization of religion" offered to even his humblest followers theprospect of eternal life, with moral fitness becoming the dominant factor indetermining a person's suitability. At death a person faced judgment by atribunal of forty-two divine judges. If they had led a life in conformancewith the precepts of the Goddess Maat, who represented truth and rightliving, the person was welcomed into the Two Fields. If found guilty theperson was thrown to a "devourer" and would be condemned to the lake offire.[10] The person taken by the devourer is subject first to terrifyingpunishment and then annihilated. These depictions of punishment may haveinfluenced medieval perceptions of the inferno in hell via early Christian andCoptic texts.[11] Purification for those considered justified appears in thedescriptions of "Flame Island", where humans experience the triumph overevil and rebirth. For the damned complete destruction into a state of non-being awaits but there is no suggestion of eternal torture; the weighing of theheart in Egyptian Mythology can lead to annihilation.[12][13] The Tale ofKhaemwese describes the torment of a rich man, who lacked charity, whenhe dies and compares it to the blessed state of a poor man who has alsodied.[14] Divine pardon at judgement always remained a central concern forthe Ancient Egyptians.[15]

Modern understanding of Egyptian notions of hell relies on six ancient texts:[16]

1. The Book of Two Ways (Book of the Ways of Rosetau)2. The Book of Amduat (Book of the Hidden Room, Book of That Which Is in the Underworld)3. The Book of Gates4. The Book of the Dead (Book of Going Forth by Day)5. The Book of the Earth6. The Book of Caverns

Ancient Near East



Painting representing hell inthe Church of Debra BerhanSelassie, Gondar, Ethiopia

The cultures of Mesopotamia (including Sumeria, the Akkadian Empire, Babylonia and Assyria), theHittites and the Canaanites/Ugarits reveal some of the earliest evidence for the notion of a Netherworld orUnderworld. From among the few texts that survive from these civilizations, this evidence appears in theEpic of Gilgamesh, the Descent of Inanna to the Netherworld, Baal and the Underworld, the Descentof Ishtar and the Vision of Kumm.[17]

Greek

In classic Greek mythology, below Heaven, Earth, and Pontus is Tartarus, or Tartaros (Greek ,deep place). It is either a deep, gloomy place, a pit or abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering thatresides within Hades (the entire underworld) with Tartarus being the hellish component. In the Gorgias,Plato (c. 400 BC) wrote that souls were judged after death and those who received punishment were sent toTartarus. As a place of punishment, it can be considered a hell. The classic Hades, on the other hand, ismore similar to Old Testament Sheol.

Europe

The hells of Europe include Breton Mythology's "Anaon", Celtic Mythology's "Uffern", Slavic mythology's"Peklo", the hell of Sami mythology and Finnish "tuonela" ("manala").

Asia

The hells of Asia include the Bagobo Gimokodan and Ancient Indian mythology's Kalichi" or "Naraka".

In folklore among the Ainu people, hell is below ground, and is described as an uninviting wet placereserved for sinful people.[18]

Africa

African hells include Haida Mythology's Hetgwauge and the hell ofSwahili Mythology (kuzimu). Serer religion rejects the general notion ofheaven and hell.[19] In Serer religion, acceptance by the ancestors who havelong departed is as close to any heaven as one can get. Rejection andbecoming a wandering soul is a sort of hell for one passing over. The soulsof the dead must make their way to Jaaniw (the sacred dwelling place of thesoul). Only those who have lived their lives on earth in accordance withSerer doctrines will be able to make this necessary journey and thusaccepted by the ancestors. Those who can't make the journey become lostand wandering souls, but they do not burn in "hell fire".[19][20]

Oceania

The Oceanic hells include Samoan Mythology's O le nu'u-o-nonoa and thehells of Bangka Mythology and Caroline Islands Mythology.

Native American



The hells of the Americas include the Aztec religion's Mictlan, Inuit religion's Adlivun, and theYanomami religion's Shobari Waka. In Mayan religion, Xibalb is the dangerous underworld of ninelevels ruled by the demons Vucub Caquix and Hun Came. The road into and out of it is said to be steep,thorny and very forbidding. Metnal is the lowest and most horrible of the nine Hells of the underworld,ruled by Ah Puch. Ritual healers would intone healing prayers banishing diseases to Metnal. Much of thePopol Vuh describes the adventures of the Maya Hero Twins in their cunning struggle with the evil lords ofXibalb.

The Aztecs believed that the dead traveled to Mictlan, a neutral place found far to the north. There was alsoa legend of a place of white flowers, which was always dark, and was home to the gods of death,particularly Mictlantecutli and his spouse Mictlantecihuatl, which means literally "lords of Mictlan". Thejourney to Mictlan took four years, and the travelers had to overcome difficult tests, such as passing amountain range where the mountains crashed into each other, a field where the wind carried flesh-scrapingknives, and a river of blood with fearsome jaguars.

Abrahamic

Judaism

Early Judaism had no concept of Hell, though the concept of an afterlife was introduced during the Hellenicperiod, apparently from neighboring Hellenistic religions. It occurs for example in Book of Daniel. Daniel12:2 proclaims "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life,Some to shame and everlasting contempt." Judaism does not have a specific doctrine about the afterlife, butit does have a mystical/Orthodox tradition of describing Gehenna. Gehenna is not Hell, but originally agrave and in later times a sort of Purgatory where one is judged based on one's life's deeds, or rather, whereone becomes fully aware of one's own shortcomings and negative actions during one's life. The Kabbalahexplains it as a "waiting room" (commonly translated as an "entry way") for all souls (not just the wicked).The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are not in Gehenna forever; thelongest that one can be there is said to be 12 months, however there has been the occasional notedexception. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Olam Habah(heb. ; lit. "The world to come", often viewed as analogous to Heaven). This is also mentioned inthe Kabbalah, where the soul is described as breaking, like the flame of a candle lighting another: the part ofthe soul that ascends being pure and the "unfinished" piece being reborn.

According to Jewish teachings, hell is not entirely physical; rather, it can be compared to a very intensefeeling of shame. People are ashamed of their misdeeds and this constitutes suffering which makes up forthe bad deeds. When one has so deviated from the will of God, one is said to be in gehinom. This is notmeant to refer to some point in the future, but to the very present moment. The gates of teshuva (return) aresaid to be always open, and so one can align his will with that of God at any moment. Being out ofalignment with God's will is itself a punishment according to the Torah.

Christianity

The Christian doctrine of hell derives from the teaching of the New Testament, where hell is typicallydescribed using the Greek words Tartarus or Hades or the Hebrew word Gehenna. In the Septuagint andNew Testament the authors used the Greek term Hades for the Hebrew Sheol, but often with Jewish rather



"Gehenna", Valley of Hinnom, 2007

than Greek concepts in mind, so that, for example, there is no activity in Hades in Ecclesiastes.[21] However,since Augustine, Christians have believed that the souls of those who die either rest peacefully, in the caseof Christians, or are afflicted, in the case of the damned, after death until the resurrection.[22]

Hebrew OT Septuagint Greek NT times in NT Vulgate KJV NIVSheol[23] Hades Hades[24] x10 infernus[25] Hell Hades

Ge Hinom[26] Ennom[27] Gehenna[28] x11 infernus Hell Hell

tartaro'o[29] x1 infernus Hell Hell

These three terms have different meanings and must be recognized.

Hades has similarities to the Old Testament term, Sheol as "the place of the dead" or "grave". Thus, itis used in reference to both the righteous and the wicked, since both wind up there eventually.[30]Gehenna refers to the "Valley of Hinnom", which was a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem. It was aplace where people burned their garbage and thus there was always a fire burning there. Bodies ofthose deemed to have died in sin without hope of salvation (such as people who committed suicide)were thrown there to be destroyed.[31] Gehenna is used in the New Testament as a metaphor for thefinal place of punishment for the wicked after the resurrection.[32]Tartaro'o (the verb "throw to Tartarus") occurs only once in the New Testament in II Peter 2:4, whereit is parallel to the use of the noun form in 1 Enoch as the place of incarceration of the fallen angels. Itmentions nothing about human souls being sent there in the afterlife.

The Roman Catholic Church defines Hell as "a state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with Godand the blessed." One finds themselves in Hell as the result of dying in mortal sin without repenting andaccepting God's merciful love, becoming eternally separated from Him by one's own free choice[33]

immediately after death.[34] In the Roman Catholic Church, many other Christian churches, such as theBaptists and Episcopalians, and some Greek Orthodox churches,[35] Hell is taught as the final destiny ofthose who have not been found worthy after the general resurrection and last judgment,[36][37][38] wherethey will be eternally punished for sin and permanently separated from God. The nature of this judgment isinconsistent with many Protestant churches teaching the saving comes from accepting Jesus Christ as theirsavior, while the Greek Orthodox and Catholic Churches teach that the judgment hinges on both faith and



The parable of the Rich man andLazarus depicting the rich man in hellasking for help to Abraham andLazarus in heaven by James Tissot

works. However, many Liberal Christians throughout Liberal Protestant and Anglican churches believe inUniversal Reconciliation (see below) even though it might contradict more evangelical views in theirdenomination.[39]

Some modern Christian theologians subscribe to the doctrines of Conditional Immortality. ConditionalImmortality is the belief that the soul dies with the body and does not live again until the resurrection. Aswith other Jewish writings of the Second Temple period, the New Testament text distinguishes two words,both translated "Hell" in older English Bibles: Hades, "the grave", and Gehenna where God "can destroyboth body and soul".[40] A minority of Christians read this to mean that neither Hades nor Gehenna areeternal but refer to the ultimate destruction of the wicked in the Lake of Fire in a consuming fire afterresurrection. However, because of the Greek words used in translating from the Hebrew text has becomeconfused with Greek myths and ideas. In the Hebrew text when people died they went to Sheol, thegrave[41] and the wicked ultimately went to Gehenna which is theconsuming by fire. So we see where the grave or death or eventualdestruction of the wicked, was translated using Greek words thatsince they had no exact ones to use, became a mix of mistranslation,pagan influence, and Greek myth associated with the word, but itsoriginal meaning was simple death or the destruction of the wickedat the end.[42]

Christian mortalism is the doctrine that all men and women,including Christians, must die, and do not continue and are notconscious after death. Therefore annihilationism includes thedoctrine that "the wicked" are also destroyed rather than tormentedforever in traditional "Hell" or the lake of fire. Christian mortalismand annihilationism are directly related to the doctrine of conditionalimmortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it isgiven eternal life at the second coming of Christ and resurrection ofthe dead. Such a belief is based on the many texts which show thewicked perish: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his onlybegotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, buthave everlasting life." John 3:16 (KJV). "For the day of the Lord isnear upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done untothee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye havedrunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drinkcontinually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had notbeen." Obadiah 1:15-16 (KJV).

This is the minority view is held by a growing number of Bible scholars with many biblical scholars lookingat the issue through the Hebrew text, have denied the teaching of innate immortality.[43][44] Rejection of theimmortality of the soul, and advocacy of Christian mortalism, was a feature of Protestantism since the earlydays of the Reformation with Martin Luther himself rejecting the traditional idea, though his view did notcarry into orthodox Lutheranism. One of the most notable English opponents of the immortality of the soulwas Thomas Hobbes who describes the idea as a Greek "contagion" in Christian doctrine.[45] Modernproponents of conditional immortality include some in the Anglican church such as N.T. Wright[46] and as



The Last Judgement, Hell,circa 1431, by Fra Angelico

denominations the Seventh-day Adventists, Bible Students, Jehovah'sWitnesses, Christadelphians, Living Church of God, The Church of GodInternational, and some other Protestant Christians.

Annihilationism is the belief that the soul is mortal unless granted eternallife, making it possible to be destroyed in Hell.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church's official beliefs support annihilation,[47]

and teaches annihilation.[48] They deny the Catholic purgatory and teach thatthe dead lie in the grave until they are raised for a last judgment, both therighteous and wicked await the resurrection at the Second Coming. Seventh-day Adventists believe that death is a state of unconscious sleep until theresurrection. They base this belief on biblical texts such as Ecclesiastes 9:5(http://tools.wmflabs.org/bibleversefinder/?book=Ecclesiastes&verse=9:5&src=NIV) which states "the dead knownothing", and 1Thessalonians 4:13-18 (http://tools.wmflabs.org/bibleversefinder/?book=1%20Thessalonians&verse=4:13-18&src=NIV) which contains a description of the dead being raisedfrom the grave at the second coming. These verses, it is argued, indicate that death is only a period or formof slumber.

Adventists teach that the resurrection of the righteous will take place at the second coming of Jesus, whilethe resurrection of the wicked will occur after the millennium of Revelation 20(http://tools.wmflabs.org/bibleversefinder/?book=Revelation&verse=20&src=NIV). They reject thetraditional doctrine of hell as a state of everlasting conscious torment, believing instead that the wicked willbe permanently destroyed after the millennium or Annihilationism.

The Adventist views about death and hell reflect an underlying belief in: (a) conditional immortality (orconditionalism), as opposed to the immortality of the soul; and (b) the holistic (or monistic) Christiananthropology or nature of human beings, as opposed to bipartite or tripartite views.

Jehovah's Witnesses hold that the soul ceases to exist when the person dies[49] and therefore that Hell (Sheolor Hades) is a state of non-existence.[49] In their theology, Gehenna differs from Sheol or Hades in that itholds no hope of a resurrection.[49] Tatarus is held to be the metaphorical state of debasement of the fallenangels between the time of their moral fall (Genesis chapter 6) until their post-millennial destruction alongwith Satan (Revelation chapter 20).[50]

Universal Reconciliation is the belief that all human souls (even demons and fallen angels) will beeventually reconciled with God and admitted to Heaven. This view is held by some Unitarian-Universalists.[51][52][53]

According to Emanuel Swedenborgs Second Coming Christian revelation, hell exists because evil peoplewant it.[54] They, not God, introduced evil to the human race.[55]

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teach that hell is a state betweendeath and resurrection, in which those spirits who didn't repent while on earth must suffer for their own sins(Doctrine and Covenants 19:1517[56]). In this sense, Mormons regard hell as a temporary state that ends



Prophet Muhammad, along withBuraq and Gabriel, visit Hell, and see"shameless women" being eternallypunished for exposing their hair to thesight of strangers. Persian, 15thcentury.

for a spirit once they have "paid the uttermost farthing" (Matt 5:26) for the sins they committed. As Davidwrote, "thou wilt not leave my soul in hell" (Psalms 16:10, 86:13, Acts 2:27). This punishment can becharacterized as a mental anguish for sins committed, which Mormons believe Christ took upon himself forall mankind while in the Garden of Gethsemane"that they may not suffer if they would repent." (Doctrineand Covenants 19:16[57]). Mormons believe Christ initiated missionary work in the spirit world during theperiod between his own death and resurrection (1 Peter 3:19, 4:6), at which time he commissioned righteousspirits to teach the gospel to those who didn't have the opportunity to receive it while on earth (Doctrine andCovenants 138:30[58]). Those spirits who accept the gospel are able to repent, whereas those who choose notto repent are destined to remain in hell throughout the Millennium.[59] At the times appointed for theresurrection, "death and hell" will deliver up the dead that are in them, to be judged according to their works(Rev 20:13). At that time, all but the sons of perdition will attain a degree of glory, which Peter compared tothe glory of the sun, moon, and stars (1 Cor 15:41). In another sense, hell is referred to as the permanentstate of those who are not redeemed by the atonement of Jesus Christ, which will include the sons ofperdition, as well as Satan and his angels.[59]

Islam

In Islam, jahannam (in Arabic: ) (related to the Hebrew wordgehinnom) is a place of blazing fire, boiling water, and a variety oftorments for those condemned to it in the hereafter. After the Day ofJudgement, it is to be occupied by those who do not believe in God,have disobeyed His laws, and/or rejected His messengers.[60]"Enemies of Islam", are sentenced immediately to Hell upondeath.[61]

Like Zoroastrianism, Muslims believe that on Judgement Day allsouls will pass over a bridge over hell (Chinvat Bridge inZorastrianism, As-Sirt in Islam) which those destined for hell willfind too narrow and fall below into their new abode.[62] Jahannamresembles the Christian versions of Hell in being below heaven andfull of fire, but is not the home of the devil.[63]

The holy book of Islam, the Qur'an, gives many literal descriptionsof the condemned in a fiery Hell, contrasting them with the garden-like Paradise (jannah) enjoyed by righteous believers. Suffering in hell is both physical and spiritual,[61][64]

and varies according to the sins of the condemned.[63]

Heaven and Hell are each divided into seven different levels, with occupants assigned to each depending ontheir actionsgood or badperpetrated during their lifetimes. The gate of Hell is guarded by Maalik whois the leader of the angels assigned as the guards of hell also known as Zabaaniyah. While hell is usuallydescribed as hot, there is one pit (Zamhareer) characterized in Islamic tradition as unbearably cold, withblizzards, ice, and snow.[65]



Naraka in the Burmese representation

Hypocrisy, shirk (polytheism) are particularly grievous sins and the lowest pit of Hell (Hawiyah), isintended for hypocrites who claimed aloud to believe in Allah and His messenger but in their hearts didnot.[66] Not all Muslims and scholars agree whether hell is an eternal destination or whether some or evenall of the condemned will eventually be forgiven and allowed to enter paradise.[60][61][63][67]

Bah' Faith

In the Bah' Faith, the conventional descriptions of Hell and Heaven are considered to be symbolicrepresentations of spiritual conditions. The Bah' writings describe closeness to God to be heaven, andconversely, remoteness from God as hell.[68]

Eastern

Buddhism

In "Devaduta Sutta", the 130th discourse of the Majjhima Nikaya,Buddha teaches about hell in vivid detail. Buddhism teaches thatthere are five (sometimes six) realms of rebirth, which can then befurther subdivided into degrees of agony or pleasure. Of theserealms, the hell realms, or Naraka, is the lowest realm of rebirth. Ofthe hell realms, the worst is Avci or "endless suffering". TheBuddha's disciple, Devadatta, who tried to kill the Buddha on threeoccasions, as well as create a schism in the monastic order, is said tohave been reborn in the Avici Hell.

However, like all realms of rebirth, rebirth in the Hell realms is notpermanent, though suffering can persist for eons before being rebornagain. In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha teaches that eventually even Devadatta will become a Pratyekabuddhahimself, emphasizing the temporary nature of the Hell realms. Thus, Buddhism teaches to escape the endlessmigration of rebirths (both positive and negative) through the attainment of Nirvana.

The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, according to the Ksitigarbha Sutra, made a great vow as a young girl to notreach Nirvana until all beings were liberated from the Hell Realms or other unwholesome rebirths. Inpopular literature, Ksitigarbha travels to the Hell realms to teach and relieve beings of their suffering.

Hinduism

Early Vedic religion does not have a concept of Hell. g-veda mentions three realms, bhr (the earth), svar(the sky) and bhuvas or antarika (the middle area, i.e. air or atmosphere). In later Hindu literature,especially the law books and Puranas, more realms are mentioned, including a realm similar to Hell, callednaraka (in Devangar: ). Yama as the first born human (together with his twin sister Yam), by virtueof precedence, becomes ruler of men and a judge on their departure. Originally he resides in Heaven, butlater, especially medieval, traditions mention his court in naraka.

In the law-books (smtis and dharma-stras, like the Manu-smti), naraka is a place of punishment for sins.It is a lower spiritual plane (called naraka-loka) where the spirit is judged and the partial fruits of karmaaffect the next life. In Mahabharata there is a mention of the Pandavas and the Kauravas both going to



Yama's Court and Hell. The Bluefigure is Yamaraja (The Hindu god ofdeath) with his consort Yami andChitragupta17th century Painting fromGovernment Museum, Chennai.

Heaven. At first Yudhisthir goes to heaven where he seesDuryodhana enjoying heaven; Indra tells him that Duryodhana is inheaven as he did his Kshatriya duties. Then he shows Yudhisthir hellwhere it appears his brothers are. Later it is revealed that this was atest for Yudhisthir and that his brothers and the Kauravas are all inheaven and live happily in the divine abode of gods. Hells are alsodescribed in various Puranas and other scriptures. The GarudaPurana gives a detailed account of Hell and its features; it lists theamount of punishment for most crimes, much like a modern-daypenal code.

It is believed that people who commit sins go to Hell and have to gothrough punishments in accordance with the sins they committed.The god Yamarja, who is also the god of death, presides over Hell.Detailed accounts of all the sins committed by an individual are keptby Chitragupta, who is the record keeper in Yama's court.Chitragupta reads out the sins committed and Yama ordersappropriate punishments to be given to individuals. These punishments include dipping in boiling oil,burning in fire, torture using various weapons, etc. in various Hells. Individuals who finish their quota of thepunishments are reborn in accordance with their balance of karma. All created beings are imperfect and thushave at least one sin to their record; but if one has generally led a pious life, one ascends to svarga, atemporary realm of enjoyment similar to Paradise, after a brief period of expiation in Hell and before thenext reincarnation, according to the law of karma.

Jainism

In Jain cosmology, Naraka (translated as hell) is the name given to realm of existence having greatsuffering. However, a Naraka differs from the hells of Abrahamic religions as souls are not sent to Narakaas the result of a divine judgment and punishment. Furthermore, length of a being's stay in a Naraka is noteternal, though it is usually very longmeasured in billions of years. A soul is born into a Naraka as adirect result of his or her previous karma (actions of body, speech and mind), and resides there for a finitelength of time until his karma has achieved its full result. After his karma is used up, he may be reborn inone of the higher worlds as the result of an earlier karma that had not yet ripened.

The hells are situated in the seven grounds at the lower part of the universe. The seven grounds are:

1. Ratna prabha2. Sharkara prabha.3. Valuka prabha.4. Panka prabha.5. Dhuma prabha.6. Tamaha prabha.7. Mahatamaha prabha.

The hellish beings are a type of souls which are residing in these various hells. They are born in hells bysudden manifestation.[69] The hellish beings possess vaikriya body (protean body which can transform itselfand take various forms). They have a fixed life span (ranging from ten thousand to billions of years) in therespective hells where they reside. According to Jain scripture, Tattvarthasutra, following are the causes forbirth in hell:[70]



17th century cloth painting depictingseven levels of Jain hell and varioustortures suffered in them. Left paneldepicts the demi-god and his animalvehicle presiding over the each hell.

A Chinese glazedearthenware sculpture of"Hell's torturer", 16thcentury, Ming Dynasty

1. Killing or causing pain with intense passion.2. Excessive attachment to things and worldly pleasure with

constantly indulging in cruel and violent acts.3. Vowless and unrestrained life.[71]

Taoism

Ancient Taoism had no concept of Hell, as morality was seen to be aman-made distinction and there was no concept of an immaterialsoul. In its home country China, where Taoism adopted tenets ofother religions, popular belief endows Taoist Hell with many deitiesand spirits who punish sin in a variety of horrible ways. This is alsoconsidered Karma for Taoism.

Chinese folk beliefs

Diyu (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin:Dy; WadeGiles: Ti-y; Japanese: , jigoku; literally "earthprison") is the realm of the dead in Chinese mythology. It is veryloosely based upon the Buddhist concept of Naraka combined withtraditional Chinese afterlife beliefs and a variety of popularexpansions and re-interpretations of these two traditions. Ruled byYanluo Wang, the King of Hell, Diyu is a maze of undergroundlevels and chambers where souls are taken to atone for their earthlysins.

Incorporating ideas from Taoism and Buddhism as well as traditionalChinese folk religion, Diyu is a kind of purgatory place which serves notonly to punish but also to renew spirits ready for their next incarnation.There are many deities associated with the place, whose names and purposesare the subject of much conflicting information.

The exact number of levels in Chinese Hell - and their associated deities -differs according to the Buddhist or Taoist perception. Some speak of threeto four 'Courts', other as many as ten. The ten judges are also known as the10 Kings of Yama. Each Court deals with a different aspect of atonement.For example, murder is punished in one Court, adultery in another.According to some Chinese legends, there are eighteen levels in Hell.Punishment also varies according to belief, but most legends speak of highlyimaginative chambers where wrong-doers are sawn in half, beheaded,thrown into pits of filth or forced to climb trees adorned with sharp blades.

However, most legends agree that once a soul (usually referred to as a'ghost') has atoned for their deeds and repented, he or she is given the Drinkof Forgetfulness by Meng Po and sent back into the world to be reborn,possibly as an animal or a poor or sick person, for further punishment.

Other



Dante and Virgil in Hell(1850) by William-AdolpheBouguereau. In this painting,the two are shown watchingtwo condemned kissingpeople.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism has historically suggested several possible fates for the wicked, including annihilation,purgation in molten metal, and eternal punishment, all of which have standing in Zoroaster's writings.Zoroastrian eschatology includes the belief that wicked souls will remain in hell until, following the arrivalof three saviors at thousand-year intervals, Ahura Mazda reconciles the world, destroying evil andresurrecting tormented souls to perfection.[72]

The sacred Gathas mention a House of the Lie for those that are of an evil dominion, of evil deeds, evilwords, evil Self, and evil thought, Liars.[73] However, the best-known Zoroastrian text to describe hell indetail is the Book of Arda Viraf.[74] It depicts particular punishments for particular sinsfor instance, beingtrampled by cattle as punishment for neglecting the needs of work animals.[75] Other descriptions can befound in the Book of Scriptures (Hadhokht Nask), Religious Judgments (Dadestan-i Denig) and the Book ofthe Judgments of the Spirit of Wisdom (Mainyo-I-Khard).[76]

Wicca

In Wicca, there is no such thing as hell because Wiccans largely don't believe in the concept of punishmentor reward.[77] Although Wiccan views differ among different Wiccan denominations, Wiccans tend toprefer viewing the Horned God and the Goddess as gentle deities[78]

LiteratureIn his Divina commedia ("Divine comedy"; set in the year 1300), DanteAlighieri employed the concept of taking Virgil as his guide through Inferno(and then, in the second canticle, up the mountain of Purgatorio). Virgilhimself is not condemned to Hell proper in Dante's poem but is rather, as avirtuous pagan, confined to Limbo just at the edge of Hell. The geography ofHell is very elaborately laid out in this work, with nine concentric ringsleading deeper into the Earth and deeper into the various punishments ofHell, until, at the center of the world, Dante finds Satan himself trapped inthe frozen lake of Cocytus. A small tunnel leads past Satan and out to theother side of the world, at the base of the Mount of Purgatory.

John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) opens with the fallen angels, includingtheir leader Satan, waking up in Hell after having been defeated in the war inheaven and the action returns there at several points throughout the poem.Milton portrays Hell as the abode of the demons, and the passive prisonfrom which they plot their revenge upon Heaven through the corruption ofthe human race. 19th-century French poet Arthur Rimbaud alluded to theconcept as well in the title and themes of one of his major works, A SeasonIn Hell. Rimbaud's poetry portrays his own suffering in a poetic form as wellas other themes.



"Visit to hell" by Mexican artistMauricio Garca Vega.

Many of the great epics of European literature include episodes that occur in Hell. In the Roman poetVirgil's Latin epic, the Aeneid, Aeneas descends into Dis (theunderworld) to visit his father's spirit. The underworld is onlyvaguely described, with one unexplored path leading to thepunishments of Tartarus, while the other leads through Erebus andthe Elysian Fields.

The idea of Hell was highly influential to writers such as Jean-PaulSartre who authored the 1944 play "No Exit" about the idea that"Hell is other people". Although not a religious man, Sartre wasfascinated by his interpretation of a Hellish state of suffering. C.S.Lewis's The Great Divorce (1945) borrows its title from WilliamBlake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1793) and its inspiration fromthe Divine Comedy as the narrator is likewise guided through Helland Heaven. Hell is portrayed here as an endless, desolate twilight

city upon which night is imperceptibly sinking. The night is actually the Apocalypse, and it heralds thearrival of the demons after their judgment. Before the night comes, anyone can escape Hell if they leavebehind their former selves and accept Heaven's offer, and a journey to Heaven reveals that Hell is infinitelysmall; it is nothing more or less than what happens to a soul that turns away from God and into itself.

Piers Anthony in his series Incarnations of Immortality portrays examples of Heaven and Hell via Death,Fate, Nature, War, Time, Good-God, and Evil-Devil. Robert A. Heinlein offers a yin-yang version of Hellwhere there is still some good within; most evident in his book Job: A Comedy of Justice. Lois McMasterBujold uses her five Gods 'Father, Mother, Son, Daughter and Bastard' in The Curse of Chalion with anexample of Hell as formless chaos. Michael Moorcock is one of many who offer Chaos-Evil-(Hell) andUniformity-Good-(Heaven) as equally unacceptable extremes which must be held in balance; in particularin the Elric and Eternal Champion series. Fredric Brown wrote a number of fantasy short stories aboutSatans activities in Hell. Cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo created a series of cartoons about life in Hell called TheHatlo Inferno, which ran from 1953 to 1958.[79]

See alsoAppeal to fearDivine retributionDamnationHeavenHell in popular cultureLimboProblem of HellPurgatoryWell to Hell hoax

References1. Heart of Buddha, Heart of China: James Carter - 2010, p 752. Barnhart, Robert K. (1995) The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, page 348. Harper Collins ISBN 0-

06-270084-73. Etymonline.com (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=hell&searchmode=none)4. Numerous verses in the Qu'ran and New Testament.5. Alighieri, Dante (June 2001 (orig. trans. 1977)) [c. 1315]. "Cantos XXXI-XXXIV". Inferno. trans. John Ciardi (2

ed.). New York: Penguin. Check date values in: |date= (help)



ed.). New York: Penguin. Check date values in: |date= (help)6. Eileen Gardiner, Visions of Heaven and Hell Before Dante (http://www.worldcat.org/title/visions-of-heaven-and-

hell-before-dante/oclc/18741120) (New York, Italica Press, 1989), p. 43.7. Gardiner, Visions, pp. 58 and 61.8. Gardiner, Visions, pp. 141, 160 and 174, and 2067.9. Gardiner, Visions, pp. 222 and 232.

10. Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt, Rosalie David, p. 158159, Penguin, 2002, ISBN 0-14-026252-011. The Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology: The Oxford Guide, "Hell", p161-162, Jacobus Van Dijk, Berkley

Reference, 2003, ISBN 0-425-19096-X12. The Divine Verdict, John Gwyn Griffiths, p233, BRILL, 1991, ISBN 90-04-09231-513. See also letter by Prof. Griffith to The Independent, 32 December 1993 [1]

(http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letter-hell-in-the-ancient-world-1470076.html)14. TheCivilization of Ancient Egypt, Paul Johnson, 1978, p. 170; see also Ancient Egyptian Literature, Miriam

Lichtheim, vol 3, p. 12615. "Egyptian Religion", Jan Assman, The Encyclopedia of Christianity, p77, vol2, Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing,

1999, ISBN 90-04-11695-816. Hell-on-line.org (http://www.hell-on-line.org/TextsEGY.html)17. Hell-on-line.org (http://www.hell-on-line.org/TextsANE.html)18. Ainu Folklore: Traditions and Culture of the Vanishing Aborigines of Japan - Page 150, Carl Etter - 200419. (French) Thiaw, Issa Laye, "La religiosit des Seereer, avant et pendant leur islamisation", [in] thiopiques, no.

54, volume 7, 2e semestre 199120. (French) Gravrand, Henry, "La civilisation sereer, vol. II: Pangool, Nouvelles ditions africaines, Dakar, 1990,

pp 91-128, ISBN 2-7236-1055-1 (Jaaniw, variation: "Jaaniiw")21. Ecclesiastes 9:10

22. Hoekema, Anthony A (1994). The Bible and the Future. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans. p.92.23. Sheol (http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7585&t=KJV): 1Mos 37:35, 42:38,

44:29, 44:31,24. Hades (http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G86&t=KJV): Mat.11:23 16:18

Luk.10:15. Ap.2:27,31. 1Kor 15:55.Upp.1:18 6:8 20:13,1425. Lewis & Short Inferus (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?

doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dinferus)26. Hinnom (http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H2011&t=KJV): Jer.19:627. LXX 28. Gehenna (http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1067&t=KJV): Mat.5:22,29,30,

10:28, 18:09, 23:15,33. Mar. 9:43,45,47, Luk.12:05, Jak.3:6.29. tartaro'o - verb: throw down to Tartarus, used of the fall of the Titans30. Unger, Merrill F. (1981). Unger's Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody Bible Institute, The. p.467.31. The New Schaf-Herzog Encyclopedia of religious Knowledge, p. 41532. The New Schaf-Herzog Encyclopedia of religious Knowledge pgs. 41441533. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 103334. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 103535. See Kallistos Ware, "Dare we hope for the salvation of all?" in The Inner Kingdom: Volume 1 of the Collected

Works36. Revelation 20:11 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+20:11-15)37. Romans 6:23 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+6:23)38. Mt 25:31, 32, 4639. Gooden, Joe (4 April 2000). "Hell - it's about to get hotter" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/699929.stm).

BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2012.40. http://www.christadelphians.com/biblebasics/0409hell.html41. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13563-sheol42. https://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/hell-sheol-hades-paradise-and-the-grave/43. Knight (1999), A brief history of Seventh-Day Adventists, p.42, "Many biblical scholars down throughout

history, looking at the issue through Hebrew rather than Greek eyes, have denied the teaching of innateimmortality."

44. Pool 1998, p.133: Various concepts of conditional immortality or annihilationism have appeared earlier inBaptist history as well. Several examples illustrate this claim. General as well as particular Baptists developedversions of annihilationism or conditional immortality.

45. Stephen A. State Thomas Hobbes and the Debate Over Natural Law and Religion 2013 "The natural immortalityof the soul is in fact a pagan presumption: "For men being generally possessed before the time of our Saviour, bycontagion of the Daemonology of the Greeks, of an opinion, that the Souls of men were substances distinct fromtheir Bodies, and therefore that when the Body was dead"



their Bodies, and therefore that when the Body was dead"46. N.T. Wright For All the Saints?: Remembering the Christian Departed 2004 "many readers will get the

impression that I believe that every human being comes already equipped with an immortal soul. I don't believethat. Immortality is a gift of God in Christ, not an innate human capacity (see 1 Timothy 6.16)."

47. "Fundamental Beliefs (http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html)" (1980) webpage from theofficial church website. See "25. Second Coming of Christ", "26. Death and Resurrection", "27. Millennium andthe End of Sin", and "28. New Earth". The earlier 1872 and 1931 statements also support conditionalism

48. Samuele Bacchiocchi, "Hell: Eternal Torment or Annihilation?(http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/immortality_resurrection/6.htm)" chapter 6 in Immortality OrResurrection?. Biblical Perspectives, 1997; ISBN 1-930987-12-9, ISBN 978-1-930987-12-8

49. "What Does the Bible Really Teach?", 2005, Published by Jehovah's Witnesses50. "Insight on the scriptures, Volume 2", 1988, Published by Jehovah's Witnesses.51. New Bible Dictionary, "Hell", InterVarsity Press, 1996.52. New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, "Hell", InterVarsity Press, 2000.53. Evangelical Alliance Commission on Truth and Unity Among Evangelicals, The Nature of Hell, Paternoster,

2000.54. Swedenborg, E. Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen(Swedenborg Foundation, 1946

#545ff.) (http://swedenborgdigitallibrary.org/contets/HH.html)55. Swedenborg, E. The True Christian Religion Containing the Universal Theology of The New Church Foretold by

the Lord in Daniel 7; 13, 14; and in Revelation 21; 1, 2(http://www.swedenborgdigitallibrary.org/contets/tcrtc.html) (Swedenborg Foundation, 1946, #489ff.).

56. http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/19?lang=eng57. http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/19.16?lang=eng#1558. http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/138?lang=eng59. http://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/hell60. "A Description of Hellfire (part 1 of 5): An Introduction" (http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/344/). Religion

of Islam. Retrieved 23 December 2014.61. "Islamic Beliefs about the Afterlife" (http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/beliefs/afterlife.htm). Religion Facts.

Retrieved 23 December 2014.62. Encyclopedia of World Religions (https://books.google.com/books?

id=dbibAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA421&dq=hell+in+christianity+and+islam+jahannam&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UbutVPiJNoX8yQSbloCgDg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=hell%20in%20christianity%20and%20islam%20jahannam&f=false). Encyclopedia Britannica Store. p.421. Retrieved 7 January 2015.

63. Emerick, Yahiya (2011). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Islam, (https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6LQJWalzQkC&pg=PT97&dq=hell+in+islam&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mNeZVLWKB8KQyASM7oCgAw&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=hell%20in%20islam&f=false) (3rd ed.). Penguin. ISBN9781101558812.

64. "Examples of Punishments" (http://www.islamcan.com/hell-jahannam/examples-of-punishments.shtml#.VJn2NfCOQ). Islamcan.com. Retrieved 23 December 2014.

65. "The Coldness of Zamhareer" (http://www.subulassalaam.com/articles/article.cfm?article_id=111#.VK2z58lggXg). subulassalaam.com. Retrieved 7 January 2015.

66. Lazarus,, William P. Comparative Religion For Dummies (https://books.google.com/books?id=oTtcFiGbW2kC&pg=PA287&dq=Hawiyah,++hypocrites+hell&hl=en&sa=X&ei=McWtVJC-H9fasAThtICQCw&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Hawiyah%2C%20%20hypocrites%20hell&f=false).Wiley. p.287. Retrieved 7 January 2015.

67. "MUSLIM SCHOLARLY DISCUSSIONS ON SALVATION AND THE FATE OF OTHERS", Mohammad HassanKhalil, p.223 "The Fitnah of Wealth", Ab Ammr Yasir al-Qadh

68. Masumian, Farnaz (1995). Life After Death: A study of the afterlife in world religions. Oxford: OneworldPublications. ISBN1-85168-074-8.

69. Sanghvi, Sukhlal (1974). Commentary on Tattvrthastra of Vcaka Umsvti. trans. by K. K. Dixit.Ahmedabad: L. D. Institute of Indology. pp. 107

70. Sanghvi, Sukhlal (1974) pp.250-5271. refer Mahavrata for the vows and restraints in Jainism72. Meredith Sprunger. "An Introduction to Zoroastrianism"

(http://www.ubfellowship.org/archive/readers/601_zoroastrianism.htm). Retrieved 10 October 2008.73. Yasna 49:11, "Avesta: Yasna" (http://www.avesta.org/yasna/y47to50b.htm). Retrieved 11 October 2008.74. Eileen Gardiner (10 February 2006). "About Zoroastrian Hell" (http://www.hell-on-

line.org/AboutZOR.html#The%20Fate%20of%20the%20Soul). Retrieved 10 October 2008.75. Chapter 75, "The Book of Arda Viraf" (http://www.avesta.org/pahlavi/viraf.html). Retrieved 10 October 2008.76. Eileen Gardiner (18 January 2009). "Zoroastrian Hell Texts" (http://www.hell-on-

line.org/TextsZOR.html#The%20Fate%20of%20the%20Soul). Retrieved 24 August 2010.77. Solitary Wicca For Life: Complete Guide to Mastering the Craft on your Own - Page 16278. Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner



Wikiquote has quotationsrelated to: Hell

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Further readingBoston, Thomas. Hell. Diggory Press, ISBN 978-1-84685-748-5Bunyan, John. A Few Sighs from Hell (Or The Groans of the Damned Soul). Diggory Press, ISBN978-1-84685-727-0Edwards, Jonathan. The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners. Diggory Press, ISBN 978-1-84685-672-3Gardiner, Eileen. Visions of Heaven and Hell before Dante. New York: Italica Press, 1989. ISBN 0-934977-14-3Loftus, John W. (2008). "Hell? No!". Why I became an atheist. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.p.387. ISBN978-1-59102-592-4.Metzger, Bruce M. (ed); , Michael D. Coogan (ed) (1993). The Oxford Companion to the Bible.Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-504645-5.

External linksHell (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0038xb6) on In OurTime at the BBC. (listen now

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p0038xb6/In_Our_Time_Hell))Atheist Foundation of Australia (http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/hell.htm) 666 words abouthell.The Jehovah's Witnesses perspective (http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2002521)Dying, Yamaraja and Yamadutas + terminal restlessness(http://veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/dying.htm)example Buddhist Hells (http://www.khandro.net/doctrine_Hells.htm)Hell-on-Line website (http://www.hell-on-line.org/)The Seventh Day Adventist perspective (http://www.helltruth.com/)Swedenborg, E. Heaven and its Wonders and Hell. From Things Heard and Seen(http://www.swedenborgdigitallibrary.org/contets/HH.html) (Swedenborg Foundation, 1946)

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78. Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner79. Sample Hatlo Inferno comic: (http://www.cartoonbrew.com/archives/jimmyhatlo.jpg)

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