Śrīmad Devī Bhāgavatam - SRIMAD DEVI BHAGAVATAM

Ch 23 Verse 1-2 Verse

Sanskrit Text

८.२३ त्रयोविंशोऽध्यायः । अवशिष्टनरकवर्णनम् । श्रीनारायण उवाच । ये नराः सर्वदा साक्ष्ये अनृतं भाषयन्ति च । दाने विनिमयेऽर्थस्य देवर्षे पापबुद्धयः ॥ १ ॥ ते प्रेत्यामुत्र नरके अवीच्याख्येऽतिदारुणे । योजनानां शतोच्छ्रायाद्गिरिमूर्ध्नः पतन्ति हि ॥ २ ॥

English Translation

Nārāyaṇa said :-- O Nārada! When persons, impelled by sinful motives, always speak false at the time of giving evidence or at the time of taking or giving money, they, after their death, go to the terrible hell, named Avīci. There, from the summit of a mountain, one hundred Yojanas high they are dropped at once down below with their heads inverted down.

Ch 23 Verse 3-4 Verse

Sanskrit Text

अनाकाशेऽधःशिरसस्तदवीचीतिनामके । यत्र स्थलं दृश्यते च जलवद्वीचिसंयुतम् ॥ ३ ॥ अवीचिमत्ततस्तत्र तिलशश्छिन्नविग्रहः । म्रियते नैव देवर्षे पुनरेवाऽवरोप्यते ॥ ४ ॥

English Translation

Here the solid ground looks like water and appears like waves. Therefore it is called Avīci, resembling like Avīci waves. Here if the sinner’s body be cut to small pieces, still he does not die; rather he gets a new body when his body is all cut to pieces.

Ch 23 Verse 5-8 Verse

Sanskrit Text

यो वा द्विजो वा राजन्यो वैश्यो वा ब्रह्मसम्भव । सोमपीथस्तत्कलत्रं सुरां वा पिबतीव हि ॥ ५ ॥ प्रमादतस्तु तेषां वै निरये परिपातनम् । कुर्वन्ति यमदूतास्ते पानं कार्ष्णायसो मुने ॥ ६ ॥ वह्निना द्रवमाणस्य नितरां ब्रह्मसम्भव । सम्भावनेन स्वस्यैव योऽधमोऽपि नराधमः ॥ ७ ॥ विद्याजन्मतपोवर्णाश्रमाचारवतो नरान् । वरीयसोऽपि न बहु मन्यते पुरुषाधमः ॥ ८ ॥

English Translation

O Son of Brahmā! When a man, be he a Brāhmin, Kṣattriya, or a Vaiśya, drinks the Soma (wine) or due to inadvertence drinks wine, he is thrown into this hell. O Muni! The Yama’s servants make him drink the molten iron. When a vile person being maddened by the pride of his self-learning, birth, austerities or Vārna and Āśrama, does not pay his respect duly to his superiors, he is thrown into the Kṣārakardama hell with his head downwards. He suffers a tremendous pain there.

Ch 23 Verse 9 Verse

Sanskrit Text

स नीयते यमभटैः क्षारकर्दमनामके । निरयेऽर्वाक्शिरा घोरा दुरन्तयातनाश्नुते ॥ ९ ॥

English Translation

When a man or woman out of delusion, performs the human sacrifices (where men are immolated as victims), he or she has to eat the human flesh here.

Ch 23 Verse 10-11 Verse

Sanskrit Text

ये वै नरा यजन्त्यन्यं नरमेधेन मोहिताः । स्त्रियोऽपि वा नरपशुं खादन्त्यत्र महामुने ॥ १० ॥ पशवो निहितास्ते तु यमसद्यनि सङ्गताः । सौनिका इव ते सर्वे विदार्य शितधारया ॥ ११ ॥

English Translation

Those that killed before all sorts of beasts, come after their death into this abode of Yama, all united and like butchers, cut each other’s flesh by pickaxes, etc., and drink their blood and dance and sing repeatedly. They do, in fact, what the terrible Rākṣasas do.

Ch 23 Verse 12-14 Verse

Sanskrit Text

असृक्पिबन्ति नृत्यन्ति गायन्ति बहुधा मुने । यथेह मांसभोक्तारः पुरुषादा दुरासदाः ॥ १२ ॥ अनागसोऽपि येऽरण्ये ग्रामे वा ब्रह्मपुत्रक । वैश्रम्भकैरुपसृतान्विश्रम्भय्यजिजीविषून् ॥ १३ ॥ शूलसूत्रादिषु प्रोतान्क्रीडनोत्कारकानिव । पातयन्ति च ते प्रेत्य शूलपाते पतन्ति ह ॥ १४ ॥

English Translation

When persons meet with the innocent persons, wishing to live in villages or forests and raise their confidence by various such means and make them attached and finally pierce them by pointed Śūlas (trident) or pointed swords and kill them as if they were ordinary play things, they are taken after their death by the Yama dūtas and thrown into Śūlādi Naraka (pierced by Śūlas).

Ch 23 Verse 15-16 Verse

Sanskrit Text

शूलादिषु प्रोतदेहाः क्षुत्तृड्भ्यां चातिपीडिताः । तिग्मतुण्डैः कङ्कबकैरितश्चेतश्च ताडिताः ॥ १५ ॥ पीडिता आत्मशमलं बहुधा संस्मरन्ति हि । ये भूतानुद्वेजयन्ति नरा उल्बणवृत्तयः ॥ १६ ॥

English Translation

They are pierced there by Śūlas and become overpowered by hunger and thirst. Herons and cranes, with their sharp beaks hunt after them to and fro. Thus tormented, they remember all their sins done in their previous lives.

Ch 23 Verse 17-18 Verse

Sanskrit Text

यथा सर्पादिकास्तेऽपि नरके निपतन्ति हि । दन्दशूकाभिधाने च यत्रोत्तिष्ठन्ति सर्वतः ॥ १७ ॥ पञ्चाननः सप्तमुखा ग्रसन्ति नरकागतान् । यथा बिलेशया विप्र क्रूरबुद्धिसमन्विताः ॥ १८ ॥

English Translation

Those who follow stray paths and trouble the other beings as the serpents do, they fall into the Dandaśūka hell. Here worms with five faces and seven faces come from all sides and eat them as a fierce serpent devours a mouse.

Ch 23 Verse 19-20 Verse

Sanskrit Text

येऽवटेषु कुसूलादिगुहादिषु निरुन्धते । तानमुत्रोद्यतकराः कीनाशपरिसेवकाः ॥ १९ तेष्वेवोपविशित्वा च सगरेण च वह्निना । धूमेन च निरुन्धन्ति पापकर्मरतान्नरान् ॥ २० ॥

English Translation

Those who confine persons in dark holes, a dark room or a dark cave they are taken by the Death servants with their arms uplifted and confined to similar dark caves, filled with poison, fire and smoke.

Ch 23 Verse 21-23 Verse

Sanskrit Text

योऽतिथीन्समयप्राप्तान्दिधक्षुरिव चक्षुषा । पापेनेहालोकयेच्च स्वयं गृहपतिर्द्विजः ॥ २१ ॥ तस्यापि पापदृष्टेर्हि निरये यमकिङ्कराः । अक्षिणी वज्रतुण्डा ये कङ्काः काकवटादयः ॥ २२ ॥ गृध्राः क्रूरतराश्चापि प्रसह्योत्पाटयन्ति हि । य आढ्याभिमतिर्याति अहङ्कृत्यातिगर्वितः ॥ २३ ॥

English Translation

When a Brāhmin householder, seeing a guest coming to his house in a reasonable (proper) time, casts a furious sinful glance at him as if to burn him, the Death’s attendants, the herons with thunderbolt like beaks, the crows and the Vaṭas and other birds and very fierce vultures all come and forcibly take out the eyes of that person who committed the aforesaid sins.

Ch 23 Verse 24-26 Verse

Sanskrit Text

तिर्यक्प्रेक्षण एवात्राभिविशङ्की नराधमः । चिन्तयार्थस्य सर्वत्रायतिव्ययस्वरूपया ॥ २४ ॥ शुष्यद्धृदयवक्त्रश्च निर्वृतिं नैव गच्छति । ग्रहवद्रक्षते चार्थं स प्रेतो यमकिङ्करैः ॥ २५ ॥ सूचीमुखे च नरके पात्यते निजकर्मणा । वित्तग्रहं च पुरुषं वायका इव याम्यकाः ॥ २६ ॥

English Translation

When person elated with vanity of his riches become too haughty and doubt over their Gurus and when their hearts and faces wither withal away, as it were, with the thoughts of their income and expenditure, and being always unhappy, hoard up money always like the Brahmā Piśācas, the Death’s officers take them for these Karmas to Sūcimukha Narakas and pierce all over his body with pins, as a tailor does with his cloth.

Ch 23 Verse 27-28 Verse

Sanskrit Text

किङ्कराः सर्वतोऽङ्गेषु सूत्रैः परिवयन्ति हि । एते बहुविधा विप्र नरकाः पापकर्मणाम् ॥ २७ ॥ नराणां शतशः सन्ति यातनास्थानभूमयः । सहस्रशोऽपि देवर्षे उक्तानुक्तांस्तथापि हि ॥ २८ ॥

English Translation

O Devarṣi! True, sinful persons thus suffer hundred thousand hells. All these are very painful and tormenting. Out of these the abovenamed twenty hells give the greatest sufferings.

Ch 23 Verse 29-30 Verse

Sanskrit Text

विशन्ति नरकानेतान्यातनाबहुलान्मुने । तथा धर्मपराश्चापि लोकान्यान्ति सुखोद्गतान् ॥ २९ ॥ स्वधर्मो बहुधा गीतो यथा तव महामुने । देवीपूजनरूपो हि देव्याराधनलक्षणः ॥ ३० ॥

English Translation

O Devarṣi! The sinners suffer various pains in hells and virtuous persons go to the several spheres where all sorts of happinesses and pleasures reign. O Maharṣi! I have described to you many forms of practising one’s Sva Dharma; yet know this verily that the worship of the Devī’s Gross Form and of Her Virāt Form is the Chief Dharma of all the persons. By worshipping the Devī, the persons have not to go to the hells.

Ch 23 Verse 31 Verse

Sanskrit Text

येनानुष्ठितमात्रेण नरो न नरकं व्रजेत् । सा देवी भवपाथोधेरुद्धर्त्री पूजिता नृणाम् ॥ ३१ ॥

Sanskrit Colophon

इति श्रीमद्देवीभागवते महापुराणेऽष्टादशसाहस्र्यां संहितायामष्टमस्कन्धे ऽवशिष्टनरकवर्णनं नाम त्रयोविंशोऽध्यायः ॥ ८.२३॥

English Translation

In fact, when the Devī Bhagavatī is worshipped, She Herself arranges for crossing the person to the other shore of this ocean of transmigration of existence. Here ends the Twenty-third Chapter of the Eighth Book on the description of the remaining hells in the Mahā Purāṇam Śrī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharṣi Veda Vyāsa.