In the realm presided over by Yama, the god of justice, there exist many dreadful regions known as hells—places of great terror and torment, each more fearsome than the last. Among these, the texts name Raurava, Sūkara, Rodha, Tāla, Viśasana, Mahājvāla, Taptakumbha, Lavaṇa, and Vilohita; and further, Rudhirāmbha, Vaitaraṇī, Krimiśa, Krimibhojana, Asipatravana, Kṛṣṇa, and the dreadful Lālābhakṣa. There are also Pūyavaha, Pāpa, Vahnijvāla, Adhaḥśirā, Saṃdaṃśa, Kālasūtra, Tamaḥ, and Avīci. Śvabhojana, Athāpratiṣṭha, Āpraci, and countless others fill this grim catalogue. These hells are exceedingly terrible, places of ceaseless fear from weapons, fire, and pain, into which those devoted to sinful acts inevitably fall. Each sin finds its own retribution in these realms. One who bears false witness, speaks partial truths, or lies is cast into Raurava. Those who kill a fetus, destroy a city, slaughter herds of cows, or suffocate another find themselves in Rodha. The drinker of liquor, slayer of a Brāhmaṇa, thief of gold, or one who associates with such sinners is sent to Sūkara. He who kills a Kṣatriya or Vaiśya, violates his teacher’s bed, sheds blood in heated vessels, or slays royal guards is consigned to yet another hell. Those who sell a virtuous wife, act as jailers, traffic in lion’s manes, or abandon their own devotees are all subjected to the agony of heated iron. He who approaches his own daughter-in-law or daughter is cast into the great flame; those who insult teachers or abuse others, and those who corrupt or sell the Veda, or seek forbidden women, are sent to the Lavaṇa hell. Thieves and violators of boundaries fall into molten iron. The hater of gods, Brāhmaṇas, or ancestors, and those who corrupt precious gems, are punished in the hells of worms—Krimibhakṣa or Krimīśa. Those who eat without first honoring ancestors, gods, and guests, consuming only for themselves, are doomed to a terrible place where they are pierced by arrows and stakes and forced to eat only saliva. Ear-cutters, sword-wielding murderers, and those who inflict torture are sent to a hell of unending torment. Accepting improper gifts, performing sacrifices for the unworthy, or pointing out stars for omens result in a fate of hanging head-down in hell. Eating black gram mixed with pus, or eating alone in haste, also leads to hell. A Brāhmaṇa who sells lac, meat, liquids, sesame seeds, or salt, or one who keeps cats, cocks, goats, dogs, pigs, or birds for livelihood, is consigned to the same hell. Gamblers, fishermen, those who eat from earthen pots, poisoners, needle-makers, buffalo-keepers, and Brāhmaṇas who work on festival days all share this fate. Arsonists, friend-slayers, soothsayers, village priests, those blinded by blood, and sellers of Soma are also hurled into hell. One who destroys a sacrifice or a village is dragged to the river Vaitaraṇī. Seminal wasters, violators of boundaries, the impure, and those who live by deceit are sent to the dark hell. He who cuts down forests without cause enters the forest of sword-leaves; sheep-stealers and hunters fall into flames, as do those who set fire to homes or fields. Those who break vows or abandon their order of life are tormented with iron pincers. Celibates who emit semen in sleep or during the day, and those who teach their own sons the Veda, become food for dogs in hell. In truth, there are hundreds and thousands of hells where the perpetrators of evil deeds suffer torments, each according to their sin. As there are these sins, so too are there countless others, and the corresponding punishments are meted out across the various regions of hell. Those who act against the duties of their class or stage of life, by deed, thought, or word, fall into these dreadful realms. The gods in heaven look down upon the hell-dwellers, seeing them suspended with their heads downward, and, in turn, the hell-dwellers see the gods in the same way. All beings—immovables like trees, insects, those born from eggs, birds, animals, humans, the righteous, the gods, and finally the liberated—exist in due order, each with their portion of happiness or suffering, until liberation is attained. The proportion of happiness increases from the lowest to the highest, and all creatures continue in this cycle until they achieve final release. As many as there are in heaven, so too are there in hell; those who do evil and neglect atonement are drawn into these realms of suffering. For every sin, there is a prescribed atonement, declared by the wise, suited to the gravity of the transgression—great penance for great sins, lesser for small ones, as taught by the ancient sages beginning with Svāyambhuva. All atonements are acts of austerity, but the highest and most effective is the remembrance of Krishna. When a person feels true remorse for his sin, the sole and supreme atonement is to remember Hari. By remembering Nārāyaṇa at dawn, night, twilight, and midday—indeed, at all times—a person destroys his sins and attains the Lord. When all accumulated suffering is thus exhausted through the remembrance of Viṣṇu, one attains liberation, and even the attainment of heaven is considered an obstacle, for the ultimate goal is union with the Supreme.