य एते पृथिवीपालाः संप्राप्ता मत्समीपतः स्वकीयैः कर्मभिर् घोरैर् दुष्प्रज्ञा बलगर्विताः
These rulers of the earth who have come before me, deluded and proud of their power, have arrived here because of their own terrible actions.
भो भो नृपा दुराचाराः प्रजाविध्वंसकारिणः अल्पकालस्य राज्यस्य कृते किं दुष्कृतं कृतम्
O kings of evil conduct, destroyers of your people, why have you committed wickedness for the sake of a kingdom that lasts but a short time?
राज्यलोभेन मोहेन बलाद् अन्यायतः प्रजाः यद् दण्डिताः फलं तस्य भुञ्जध्वम् अधुना नृपाः
Because of greed for the kingdom and delusion, you unjustly punished your subjects by force; now, O kings, experience the fruit of that.
कुतो राज्यं कलत्रं च यदर्थम् अशुभं कृतम् तत् सर्वं संपरित्यज्य यूयम् एकाकिनः स्थिताः
Where now is the kingdom or the wife for whose sake you performed evil? Having abandoned all that, you now stand here alone.
पश्यामो न बलं सर्वं येन विध्वंसिताः प्रजाः यमदूतैः पाट्यमाना अधुना कीदृशं फलम्
We see no power left by which you destroyed your subjects; now, as you are torn by Yama's messengers, what kind of result do you face?
एवं बहुविधैर् वाक्यैर् उपालब्धा यमेन ते शोचन्तः स्वानि कर्माणि तूष्णीं तिष्ठन्ति पार्थिवाः
Thus, rebuked by Yama with many such words, the kings, grieving over their own actions, stand silent.
इति कर्म समादिश्य नृपाणां धर्मराट् स्वयम् तत्पातकविशुद्ध्यर्थम् इदं वचनम् अब्रवीत्
Having thus declared the actions of the kings, the Lord of Justice himself spoke these words for the purification of their sins.
भो भोश् चण्ड महाचण्ड गृहीत्वा नृपतीन् इमान् विशोधयध्वं पापेभ्यः क्रमेण नरकाग्निषु
O Caṇḍa, O Mahācaṇḍa, seize these kings and cleanse them from their sins, one by one, in the fires of hell.
ततः शीघ्रं समुत्थाय नृपान् संगृह्य पादयोः भ्रामयित्वा तु वेगेन क्षिप्त्वा चोर्ध्वं प्रगृह्य च
Then, rising swiftly, they seize the kings by the feet, whirl them with force, and hurl them upward, holding them tightly.
तत्तत्पापप्रमाणेन यमदूताः शिलातले आस्फोटयन्ति तरसा वज्रेणेव महाद्रुमम्
According to the measure of each one's sin, the messengers of Yama dash them violently upon a stone slab, as a thunderbolt shatters a great tree.
ततस् तु रक्तं स्रोतोभिः स्रवते जर्जरीकृतः निःसंज्ञः स तदा देही निश्चेष्टश् च प्रजायते
Then, blood flows from their wounds, their bodies shattered; at that moment, the embodied one becomes unconscious and motionless.
ततः स वायुना स्पृष्टः शनैर् उज्जीवते पुनः ततः पापविशुद्ध्यर्थं क्षिपन्ति नरकार्णवे
After that, touched by the wind, he slowly revives again; then, for the purification of his sin, they cast him into the ocean of hell.
अन्यांश् च ते तदा दूताः पापकर्मरतान् नरान् निवेदयन्ति विप्रेन्द्रा यमाय भृशदुःखितान्
At that time, those messengers present other men, devoted to sinful deeds and greatly afflicted, to Yama, O best of Brahmins.
एष देव तवादेशाद् अस्माभिर् मोहितो भृशम् आनीतो धर्मविमुखः सदा पापरतः परः
O Lord, by your command, we have brought this one here, thoroughly deluded, always turned away from righteousness and intent on sin.
एष लुब्धो दुराचारो महापातकसंयुतः उपपातककर्ता च सदा हिंसारतो शुचिः
He is greedy, of evil conduct, joined with great sins, a doer of secondary sins, always delighting in violence, and impure.
अगम्यागामी दुष्टात्मा परद्रव्यापहारकः कन्याक्रयी कूटसाक्षी कृतघ्नो मित्रवञ्चकः
He approaches forbidden women, is wicked-hearted, steals others' wealth, buys maidens, gives false testimony, is ungrateful, and deceives friends.
अनेन मदमत्तेन सदा धर्मो विनिन्दितः पापम् आचरितं कर्म मर्त्यलोके दुरात्मना
By this one, intoxicated with pride, righteousness has always been reviled; sinful actions have been performed in the mortal world by this evil-minded man.
इदानीम् अस्य देवेश निग्रहानुग्रहौ वद प्रभुर् अस्य क्रियायोगे वयं वा परिपन्थिनः
Now, O Lord of the gods, declare whether punishment or mercy should be shown to him; you are the master of his fate, and we are only your agents.
इति विज्ञाप्य देवेशं न्यस्याग्रे पापकारिणम् नरकाणां सहस्रेषु लक्षकोटिशतेषु च
Having thus informed the Lord of the gods, they place the sinner before him, among thousands and hundreds of millions of hells.
किंकरास् ते ततो यान्ति ग्रहीतुम् अपरान् नरान् प्रतिपन्ने कृते दोषे यमो वै पापकारिणाम्
Then Yama's attendants go forth to seize other men, when a fault has been committed, for Yama is the punisher of sinners.
समादिशति तान् घोरान् निग्रहाय स्वकिंकरान् यथा यस्य विनिर्दिष्टो वसिष्ठाद्यैर् विनिग्रहः
He commands those fierce attendants to punish, as prescribed by Vasiṣṭha and others, according to the specific punishment assigned for each.
पापस्य तद् भृशं क्रुद्धाः कुर्वन्ति यमकिंकराः अङ्कुशैर् मुद्गरैर् दण्डैः क्रकचैः शक्तितोमरैः
Then, greatly enraged at the sinner, Yama's attendants torment him with goads, mallets, staffs, saws, spears, and javelins.
खड्गशूलनिपातैश् च भिद्यन्ते पापकारिणः नरकाणां सहस्रेषु लक्षकोटिशतेषु च
With blows of swords and spears, sinners are torn apart in thousands and hundreds of millions of hells.
स्वकर्मोपार्जितैर् दोषैः पीड्यन्ते यमकिंकरैः शृणुध्वं नरकाणां च स्वरूपं च भयंकरम्
Afflicted by the faults earned through their own actions, they are tormented by Yama's attendants. Hear now the dreadful nature and forms of the hells.
नामानि च प्रमाणं च येन यान्ति नराश् च तान् महावाचीति विख्यातं नरकं शोणितप्लुतम्
The names and measures by which men go to them—there is a hell called Mahāvācī, renowned and flooded with blood.
वज्रकण्टकसंमिश्रं योजनायुतविस्तृतम् तत्र संपीड्यते मग्नो भिद्यते वज्रकण्टके
It is mixed with adamantine thorns and stretches ten thousand yojanas wide; there, plunged and pressed, one is pierced by adamantine thorns.
वर्षलक्षं महाघोरं गोघाती नरके नरः योजनानां शतं लक्षं कुम्भीपाकं सुदारुणम्
A person who kills a cow endures a terrible hell for a hundred thousand years, in the dreadful Kumbhipāka, stretching a hundred thousand yojanas.
ताम्रकुम्भवती दीप्ता वालुकाङ्गारसंवृता ब्रह्महा भूमिहर्ता च निक्षेपस्यापहारकः
There is a blazing cauldron filled with burning sand and coals, where the slayer of a Brahmin, the usurper of land, and the thief of deposits are cast.
दह्यन्ते तत्र संक्षिप्ता यावद् आभूतसंप्लवम् रौरवो वज्रनाराचैः प्रज्वलद्भिः समावृतः
There, those thrown in are burned until the dissolution of creation; Raurava is surrounded by blazing, adamantine arrows.
योजनानां सहस्राणि षष्टिर् आयामविस्तरैः भिद्यन्ते तत्र नाराचैः सज्वालैर् नरके नराः
In that hell, sixty thousand yojanas in length and breadth, people are pierced by flaming arrows.