The Hells, Part 1

King Yama was formerly the king of the country of Vaiśa, and, having fought with the king Vitarśi, his troops were not equal to it, and he therefore made a vow: may I become the lord of hell. And his eighteen ministers, leading a host of a million, all had horns on their heads and were full of resentment, and made this vow together: hereafter we shall serve and help in dealing with these offenders.

The king of Vaiśa is Yama now; the eighteen men are the lesser kings; the host of a million are the wardens; and they are subject to Vaiśravaṇa, heavenly king of the north (Source: Sūtra of Questions on Hell; the Sūtra of the Samādhi of Pure Deliverance says he governs a hundred and thirty-four hells in all).

South of Jambudvīpa there is a great Vajra Mountain, within which is King Yama’s palace, six thousand yojanas across (the Sūtra of Questions on Hell says: he dwells among the hells, and the city is thirty thousand li across, made of gold and silver).

Three times a day and night a great bronze cauldron appears of itself before him. If the cauldron comes inside the palace, the king sees it and is terrified and leaves and goes outside; if the cauldron goes outside the palace, the king goes inside. There is a great warden who lays the king on the hot cauldron and prises open his mouth with an iron hook and pours molten copper into it, and it passes from his throat all the way down and there is nothing not scorched and rotted.

When it is over he goes back and enjoys himself with the palace women; and those great ministers of his who share his fortune have the same (Source: Dīrgha Āgama, fascicle 19).

There are three messengers: the first old age, the second sickness, the third death. If a being does evil in the three kinds of action, then when his body breaks up and his life ends he should fall into hell; and the king asks him: were you summoned by the heavenly messengers?

The king says: did you not see the first messenger? Among humans, did you not see one whose head was white and whose teeth were fallen, whose eyes were dim, whose skin was slack and flesh wrinkled, bent at the back and leaning on a staff and groaning as he went — did you see such a person? The offender says: I saw him. The king says: why did you not think, I too shall come to that? The offender says: I was careless at the time and did not notice it of myself.

The king says: I shall now let you know the suffering of carelessness. It is not the fault of father or mother, brothers, Śakra, ancestors, acquaintances, servants, or śramaṇas. You did the evil yourself and shall now receive it yourself.

He asks again: did you not see the second messenger? When you were a human, did you not see one gravely ill and hard pressed, lying in his own filth and stench, needing others for food and drink, aching in every joint, weeping and groaning and unable to speak? He answers: I saw him. The king asks: why did you not think of yourself? (and so back and forth as with the first messenger)

He asks again: were you aware of the third messenger? Did you not see a person dead, his body broken up and his life ended, all his faculties forever extinguished, his body stiff and straight like a withered tree, thrown out among the graves and eaten by birds and beasts? He answers: I saw him (and so back and forth as before).

When he has spoken, he hands him over to the wardens (the Sūtra on the Three Ages of Beings’ Punishment for Evil says: he sends five messengers and asks five questions — birth, old age, sickness, death, and the evil deeds of the former body), and he goes to the great hell (Source: Dīrgha Āgama, fascicle 19; the Lokasthāna Sūtra is roughly the same with minor differences).

The eighteen lesser kings are: first, Jiāyán, who has charge of the niraya; second, Qūzūn, of the mountain of knives; third, Fèixūnshòu, of the boiling sand; fourth, Fèidiǎn, of the boiling filth; fifth, Jiāshì, of the Black-Ear; sixth, Yícuō, of the fire-cart; seventh, Tāngwèi, of the cauldron of boiling water; eighth, Tiějiārán, of the iron couch; ninth, Èshēng, of the Yí Mountain; tenth, Cold Ice (the sūtra omits the king’s name); eleventh, Píjiā, of the flaying; twelfth, Jīngtóu, of the animals; thirteenth, Tíbáo, of the blades and weapons; fourteenth, Yídà, of the iron mill; fifteenth, Yuètóu, of the ice hell; sixteenth, the Iron Cage (the sūtra omits the king’s name); seventeenth, Shēn, of the maggots; eighteenth, Guānshēn, of the molten copper (Source: Sūtra of Questions on Hell).

First, King Píngcháo, who has charge of the great niraya Avīci. Second, King Jìnpíng, of the heavy hell of the Black Rope. Third, King Túdū, of the Iron Mortar hell. Fourth, King Fǔtiān, of the Coming-Together hell. Fifth, King Shèngdū, of the Great Mountain hell. Sixth, King Xuándū, of the Fire City hell. Seventh, King Guǎngwǔ, of the Sword Tree hell. Eighth, King Wǔyáng, of the Roaring hell. Ninth, King Píngyáng, of the Eight Roads hell. Tenth, King Dūyáng, of the Thorn Tree hell.

Eleventh, King Xiāoyáng, of the Boiling Ash hell. Twelfth, King Tǐngwèi, of the Great Crying and Small Crying hells. Thirteenth, King Guǎngjìn, of the Great Avīci hell. Fourteenth, King Gāodū, of the Iron Cart hell. Fifteenth, King Gōngyáng, of the Iron Fire hell. Sixteenth, King Píngjiě, of the Boiling Filth hell. Seventeenth, King Zhùyáng, of the Burning hell. Eighteenth, King Píngqiū, of the Mílí hell. Nineteenth, King Zhūshí, of the Mountain Stone hell. Twentieth, King Lángyé, of the Duōhuán hell.

Twenty-first, King Dūguān, of the niraya. Twenty-second, King Xuánxī, of the Flying Insects hell. Twenty-third, King Tàiyī, of the Yáng’ē hell. Twenty-fourth, King Héshí, of the Great Mill hell. Twenty-fifth, King Liángwú, of the Cold Snow hell. Twenty-sixth, King Wúyuán, of the Iron Pestle hell. Twenty-seventh, King Zhèngzhì, of the Iron Pillar hell. Twenty-eighth, King Gāoyuǎn, of the Pus and Blood hell. Twenty-ninth, King Dūjìn, of the Burning Stone hell. Thirtieth, King Yuándū, of the Iron Wheel hell.

These are the thirty nirayas of great and bitter torment. The spirits listen and observe and set down in the registers offense and merit and do not ask who is honoured and who is base. Six times a month they report and four times a year they review; and on the days of review they all use the eight kings. The days of the eight kings are those on which the heavenly kings make their circuit and compare the gods and the common people who are their subjects: those with merit have their years increased and those with offense have their reckoning cut short, and the setting of the length of life does not err by the breadth of a hair.

The people are blind and dark and do not know it of themselves; and if they do not do good beforehand they are taken and handed over to hell (Source: Sūtra of the Samādhi of Pure Deliverance).

The five officers are: the first, the Fresh Officer, who prohibits killing; the second, the Water Officer, who prohibits stealing; the third, the Iron Officer, who prohibits lust; the fourth, the Earth Officer, who prohibits double-tongued speech; the fifth, the Heaven Officer, who prohibits liquor (Source: Sūtra of the Samādhi of Pure Deliverance).

On the east, west, and south sides of King Yama’s city the hells are set out in rows. There is light of sun and moon there, but it is not bright and clear; and the Black-Ear hell alone the light does not reach.

When a person’s life ends, the spirit is born into the intermediate state; the intermediate state is where one has already given up the dying aggregate and has not yet reached the born aggregate. Those offenders ride the intermediate-state body and enter the niraya city; the niraya city (which in the language of Liang is the City of Detention, also called the Closed City) is where all these offenders gather before receiving their punishment.

Blown by the skilful wind, they receive a large or a small body according to the weight of their deeds; blown by the stinking wind, the coarse and ugly form of an offender is accomplished; blown by the fragrant wind, the subtle body of one who has merit is accomplished (Source: Sūtra of Questions on Hell).

For those born in heaven and those who fall into hell alike there are those who come to receive them. When a person is ill and about to die, their eyes see them coming to receive them: one who is to be born in heaven sees gods holding heavenly clothing and making music come to receive them; one who is to be born in another quarter sees an honoured person speaking fine words to them; one who is to fall into hell sees soldiers holding knives and shields, spears and halberds and ropes, surrounding them. What they see is not the same, and their mouths cannot speak of it.

Each receives the fruit of what they have done. Heaven does not wrong or overreach; it is level and straight and without a second face, and treats them by the net of heaven according to what they have done (Source: Sūtra of the Samādhi of Pure Deliverance. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: when a person is about to die they see the marks of the intermediate state — one who has done evil deeds sees the three evil destinies and their suffering, or sees Yama holding weapons and taking them away in custody, or hears sounds of suffering; and one who has done good sees the palaces of the gods and their entertainers adorned and disporting themselves in delight, and other excellent things of this kind).

The eight kings are: Śakra, lord of the gods, with his thirty-two garrison ministers; the four great garrison kings; the Director of Fate and the Director of Records; the five great rākṣasa kings; and the messengers of the eight kings. They all go out and spread through the four quarters on their circuit.

And they meet again with the four kings’ reports on the fifteenth and the thirtieth, examining and comparing the people and setting down their conduct as good or evil; and the king of hell too sends his assistant ministers and lesser kings out at the same time, and whatever is offending is set down at once.

If at the earlier fast, on one of the eight kings’ days, a person has offended but their merit is strong, they are saved and are safe and there is nothing else, and their merit is used to pardon them. If at the later fast day they offend again and their offenses are many, their lifespan is reduced and their name is entered and their death is fixed, and the year, month, day, and hour are sent down to hell.

Hell receives the document and at once sends the hell-ghosts to take the name from the register and summon them; and the hell-ghosts have no kindness, and if the day of death has not yet come they force them to do evil so that their life may be quickly used up.

For one whose merit is great, their lifespan is increased and their reckoning added to, and heaven sends good spirits to guard and protect their person, and moves down to hell to strike out their offending name; the death is removed and life is fixed, and afterward they are born in heaven (Source: Sūtra of the Samādhi of Pure Deliverance).

What is hell? The answer: the cold, the hot, and the border hells. They are of measureless kinds, and I shall now set them out in brief.

The cold hells are: those with articulate crying, those with inarticulate crying, and those without crying — these three marks of the most extreme cries of misery.

Of those with articulate crying there are three: first Arbuda, second Nirarbuda, third Aṭaṭa. In the Arbuda hell, from the cold there arise on the body things like boils. In the Nirarbuda hell the wind blows and they swell up and are full. In the Aṭaṭa the extreme cold wind blows and strips the skin from their bodies and the flesh all falls away; and all of them shiver violently and cry out. These three can be made out.

Of those with inarticulate crying there are two: first Hahava-hahava, second Utpala. In the Hahava-hahava, likewise the extreme cold wind blows and the skin and flesh are stripped away, and they cry hahava-hahava. In the Utpala, an extremely great cold wind blows and strips the skin and flesh of the body, and the iron leaves within the body wrap themselves round the body like an utpala flower. It is by slandering the sages that one falls into this hell.

Of those without crying there are four: first Kumuda, second Sugandhi, third Puṇḍarīka, fourth Padma. The extreme cold wind blows and their bodies swell and are full; and, having these four marks, they receive suffering and groan. It is by slandering the sages that they fall into these four hells, and at all times receive measureless suffering.

All these great cold hells are placed between the four continents, at the base of the Iron Ring Mountains, facing upward, dwelling in darkness. The cold wind ruins their bodies and a great fire burns them, as when a bamboo grove burns and the sounds crack and strike against one another. And there are other beings in them receiving suffering, all of whom slandered and reviled the sages and receive suffering like this. As the World-Honored One said in verse:

“In Nirarbuda there are a hundred thousand, / in Arbuda thirty-five; / reviling the sages, the hell of evil destinies / comes of the evil wishes of mouth and mind.”

This is called the cold hells. Question: what of the hot hells? Answer: first, those with a governor to deal with them; second, those with a lesser governor; third, those with no governor. These three marks of dealing are the beating and the examination.

Of those with a governor there are: first Reviving, second Ranks, third Black Rope. In the Reviving hell the wardens with sharp knives and axes dismember and flay and chop and hack the offending beings as one hacks the heads of grass; and the skin and flesh come apart, and, the conditions of the offense not being exhausted, a cold wind blows and they grow back as before. And by the further cause of their evil, iron claws grow on their hands, sharp as knives, and each of them grows resentful and they strike and cut one another as one mows bamboo and reeds. Because they nursed resentment against one another until they died, they are born here.

In the Black Rope hell they lay the offenders on the ground and mark them with a black cord and hack and cut them. Because they hacked at beings they are born in that hell.

And further, with hot red copper they wrap the body and the bones break and the marrow and blood run. Because they laid whip and rod on beings and on renunciants, and were not diligent and yet received and wore the robes given in faith, they are born there. And in the extreme dark it is worse than the smoke; they hang the body upside down and make it breathe the smoke. This is because they smoked out beings dwelling in holes.

In the Ranks hell they set out the offending beings in rows as in a slaughterhouse, and cut off hands, feet, ears, nose, and head. It is because they were butchers that they receive this suffering. And further, on the hot iron ground they harness iron fire-carts, and the wardens ride them and stare and shout and roar, driving them to run. Because they rode elephants and horses and drove them to exhaustion, they fall into this. Those who committed adultery with others’ wives are driven up the sword trees and burned by a natural fire and receive suffering like this. As for the wardens of the hells with governors, because of the conditions of their conduct they are not burned by the fire.

Of the hells with a lesser governor there are: first Crushing, second Great Wailing, third Iron Roasting. In the Crushing hell the offending beings fear the wardens and run by the hundred thousand into the mountains, and a fire arises of itself before and behind them, and the two mountains come together of themselves like a mill, and the blood flows like a river and the bones and flesh are entirely crushed. It is because they delighted in grinding down beings. And further, they burn a great iron mortar and pound them with a pestle, and though a hundred years pass, by the conditions of their offense their lives are not exhausted. It is because they pounded and killed fleas and lice in a mortar, and killed by pressing.

In the Great Wailing hell great iron mountains burn all round and there is no way out on any of the four sides, and the evil wardens have no kindness and say in rage: where do you mean to go? And with burning iron pestles they strike and break their heads. It is because they made the people suffer that they are born in this.

In the Roasting hell the great iron mountains and their flames strike against one another, and they turn them with iron spatulas and roast them all round; and when one side is done the spatula turns of itself and they are turned over and over. It is because they killed people by impaling them that they are born in this.

In the Unremitting hell the iron ground burns all round for a hundred yojanas across, with four gates as in a city, covered above with thin copper, flame following flame; and the offending beings are heaped up like firewood, and the flame is unobstructed and scorches and rots their bodies and they receive suffering without remission. It is because they killed father and mother or a true one, and with an evil mind toward the Buddha caused blood to flow, and set the community of monks at strife, and did the ten unwholesome deeds in a heightened degree, that they are born in this.

The border hells are in the space between houses and waters, among the mountains, and in the wilderness, where one receives the recompense of evil deeds alone. These are called the border hells (Source: the Robes chapter, fascicle 3).

Outside the four continents there are eighty thousand lands that surround them; outside the eighty thousand lands there is again a great sea; outside the sea there is again a great Vajra Mountain; and outside that mountain there is again a mountain, also named Vajra (the Lokasthāna Sūtra says the great Iron Ring Mountain). Between the two mountains the majestic light of the gods of sun and moon does not shine.

There are eight great hells: the first Conception, the second Black Rope, the third Crushing, the fourth Wailing, the fifth Great Wailing, the sixth Burning, the seventh Great Burning, the eighth Unremitting (the Lokasthāna Sūtra has differences; the text is long and not set down here). Each one of these hells has sixteen lesser hells (the Sūtra of Questions on Hell says: the hells are above the ground).

The sixteen of the Conception hell are: first Black Sand, second Boiling Filth, third Five Hundred Nails, fourth Hunger, fifth Thirst, sixth One Copper Cauldron, seventh Many Copper Cauldrons, eighth Stone Mill, ninth Pus and Blood, tenth Measuring Fire, eleventh Ash River, twelfth Iron Balls, thirteenth Adze and Axe, fourteenth Jackals and Wolves, fifteenth Sword Trees, sixteenth Cold Ice.

The beings in it grow iron claws on their hands and rage at one another, and claw at one another so that at the touch of a hand the flesh falls away; and they conceive that they are dead. And further, the beings in it, conceiving thoughts of poison and harm, take up knives and swords and hack and stab one another and flay and slice and cut, and their bodies fall to pieces on the ground, and they say to one another that they are dead — and a cold wind comes and blows and they presently revive and rise, and say to one another: we are alive again.

Having received punishment a long while they come out of the Conception hell, and in their panic and search for rescue they come unawares to the Black Sand hell. A hot wind rises violently and blows hot black sand upon their bodies, burning the skin through to the bone, and flames arise within the body and turn back on it and scorch and rot it; and, their offense not being finished, they are not allowed to die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Black Sand hell to the Boiling Filth hell, where boiling filth and iron balls appear of themselves before them, and the offenders are driven and pressed to embrace the iron balls, which burn their bodies and hands, and are then made to take them into their mouths, and from the throat to the belly they pass all the way down and there is nothing not scorched and rotted; and iron-beaked insects bite the flesh through to the marrow, and the bitter poison of it is measureless. Their punishment not being finished, again they are not allowed to die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Boiling Filth hell and come to the Iron Nails hell, where the wardens throw them down on their backs on hot iron and stretch out their bodies and nail their hands and feet with nails, five hundred nails all over the body; and in the bitterness of it they cry and groan and still do not die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Iron Nails hell to the Hunger hell, where they are thrown down on hot iron and molten copper is poured into their mouths, and from the throat to the belly it passes all the way down and there is nothing not scorched and rotted; and, the remainder of their offense not being exhausted, again they do not die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Hunger hell to the Thirst hell, where they are thrown down on hot iron and hot iron balls are put in their mouths, burning their lips and tongues and passing all the way down and scorching and rotting everything, and in the bitterness of it they weep and cry.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Thirst hell to the One Copper Cauldron hell, where the wardens glare and take the offender by the feet and throw him head down into the cauldron, and he turns up and down with the boiling water and his body is broken and rotted and cooked; and ten thousand poisons come upon him at once and so he does not die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the One Copper Cauldron to the Many Copper Cauldrons hell, where they take the offender by the feet and throw him head down into a cauldron, and he turns up and down with the boiling water and his whole body is broken and rotted, and with an iron hook they take him and put him into another cauldron; and he cries out in bitterness and so does not die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Many Copper Cauldrons to the Stone Mill hell, where they take that offender and throw him down on hot stone and stretch out his hands and feet, and with a great hot stone press upon his body and turn it and grind him, and the bones and flesh are ground to pulp; and the bitter pain of it is sharp and so he does not die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Stone Mill hell to the Pus and Blood hell, where pus and blood boil up and the offenders run east and west in it and their bodies and heads and faces are scalded and rotted; and they take the pus and blood and eat it, and it passes all the way down, and the bitterness of it is hard to bear and so they do not die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Pus and Blood to the Measuring Fire hell, where there is a great mass of fire blazing fiercely, and the offenders are driven and pressed to take an iron measure in their hands and measure out the mass of fire, which burns their bodies all over with bitter and burning pain; and they groan and cry aloud and so do not die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Measuring Fire hell to the Ash River hell, five hundred yojanas across and deep, where the ash-water boils up and an evil vapour surges, and the returning waves strike one another with a sound that is dreadful to hear; and from the bottom up iron spikes run crosswise. On the river’s bank there is a grove of sword trees whose branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit are all knives and swords.

The offenders go into the river and rise and fall with the waves and are turned over and sink, and the iron spikes pierce their bodies through, inside and out, and pus and blood flow out; and the bitter pain of it is of ten thousand kinds and so they do not die. And they come out of the ash river onto the far bank, and the sharp swords cut and stab and their bodies are wounded and broken; and jackals and wolves come and bite the offenders and eat their flesh alive.

They run up the sword trees and the sword blades point downward; and when they come down the sword trees the blades point upward. They grasp with their hands and their hands are severed; they tread with their feet and their feet are cut off; the skin and flesh fall away and only the white bones are left with the sinews joining them. And at that time there are iron-beaked crows in the sword trees which peck their heads and eat their brains; and in the bitterness of it they cry out and so do not die.

They go back into the ash river and sink with the waves, and the iron spikes pierce their bodies with ten thousand kinds of bitterness, and the skin and flesh rot away and pus and blood flow out and only the white bones float on the surface; and a cold wind comes and blows and they presently stand up again. Drawn by their old debts, they come unawares to the Iron Balls hell, where there are hot iron balls and the hell-ghosts drive them and throw them at them, and their hands and feet rot away and their whole bodies take fire; and ten thousand poisons come at once and so they do not die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Iron Balls to the Adze and Axe hell, where they take this offender and throw him down on hot iron and with hot iron adzes and axes hack at his hands and feet and ears and nose and body; and in the bitterness of it he cries out and still does not die.

Having received punishment a long while they come out of the Adze and Axe hell to the Jackals and Wolves hell, where a pack of jackals and wolves come vying to bite him, and the flesh falls away and the bones are wounded and pus and blood flow out; and the bitter pain of it is of ten thousand kinds and so he does not die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Jackals and Wolves to the Sword Trees hell; and going into that sword forest a violent wind arises and blows the leaves of the sword trees down upon their bodies, and head and face and body are all wounded and broken, and iron-beaked crows peck out both their eyes; and in the bitterness and grief of it they cry and so do not die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Sword Trees to the Cold Ice hell, where a great cold wind blows upon their bodies and their whole frames are frozen and injured and the skin and flesh fall away; and in the bitterness of it they cry out, and only then do their lives end. Their bodies did what was not good, and their mouths and minds likewise; and so they fall into the Conception hell, and in their terror the hair stands on end.

The great Black Rope hell has sixteen lesser hells surrounding it all round, each five hundred yojanas across. Why is it named Black Rope? Its wardens take that offender and throw him down on hot iron and stretch out his body and mark him straight with a hot iron cord, and with a hot iron axe hack the offender along the line of the cord into a hundred thousand pieces. And further, with an iron cord they mark him and saw him. And further, they hang hot iron cords crosswise beyond number and drive and press the offenders to walk between the cords; and an evil wind rises violently and blows the iron cords all over their bodies, burning the skin through the flesh and scorching the bone and boiling the marrow, with ten thousand kinds of bitterness; and, the remainder of their offense not being finished, they are not allowed to die. Therefore it is named Black Rope.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Black Rope to the Black Sand hell, and so on to the Cold Ice hell, and then their lives end. Whoever has an evil mind toward father and mother, toward the Buddha, or toward the hearers falls into the Black Rope hell, and the bitterness of it cannot be told.

The great Crushing hell has sixteen lesser hells surrounding it, each five hundred yojanas across. Why is it named Crushing? There are great stone mountains, two mountains facing each other, and when a person enters between them the mountains come together of themselves and crush his body, and the bones and flesh are ground to pulp, and the mountains return to their places; and the bitterness of it is of ten thousand kinds and so he does not die. And there are great iron elephants whose whole bodies are aflame, who come roaring and trample the offenders and roll them beneath them, and their bodies are ground to pulp and pus and blood flow out; and they cry out and wail and so do not die. And they take the offender and lay him on a great stone and press him with a great stone; and they take the offender and lay him on the ground and pound him with an iron pestle, and from foot to head the skin and flesh are ground to pulp and pus and blood flow out, and ten thousand poisons come at once; and, the remainder of the offense not being finished, they are not allowed to die. Therefore it is named Crushing.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Crushing to the Black Sand hell, and so on to the Cold Ice, and only then do their lives end. Those who make only the three evil kinds of action and do not cultivate the three good practices fall into the Crushing hell, and the bitterness of it cannot be told.

The great Wailing hell has sixteen lesser hells, each five hundred yojanas across. Why is it named the Wailing hell? The wardens take the offenders and throw them into a great cauldron; and they set them in a great iron kettle where the hot water boils up and cooks those offenders, and they wail and cry out in bitter and sharp pain. And they take those offenders and throw them onto a great griddle and fry them over and over, and they wail and cry out; and, the remainder of the offense not being finished, they are not allowed to die. Therefore it is named Wailing.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Wailing to the Black Sand hell, and so on to the Cold Ice, and only then do their lives end. Those who nurse anger and poison and make evil actions of every kind fall into the Wailing hell.

The great Great Wailing hell has sixteen lesser hells. Why is it named Great Wailing? They take those offenders and put them in a great iron pot; and they set them in an iron kettle where the hot water boils up and cooks those offenders; and they throw them onto a great griddle and fry them over and over, and they wail and cry out greatly in bitter and sharp pain; and, the remainder of the offense not being finished, they are not allowed to die. It is named Great Wailing.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Great Wailing to the Cold Ice hell, and only then do their lives end. Those who practice the many wrong views and are drawn by the net of craving and do mean and base actions fall into the Great Wailing hell.

The Burning hell has sixteen lesser hells. Why is it named Burning? They put the offenders in an iron city, and that city is aflame and red within and without and burns the offenders. And they set them on an iron tower, and the tower is aflame and red within and without. And they throw them into a great iron kiln, and the kiln is aflame and red within and without, and it burns the offenders and their skin and flesh are scorched and rotted and ten thousand poisons come at once; and, the remainder of the offense not being finished, they are not allowed to die. Therefore it is named Burning.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Burning hell to the Black Sand hell, and so on to the Cold Ice, and then their lives end. Those who did burning deeds fall into the Burning hell and through the long night receive the suffering of burning.

The Great Burning hell has sixteen lesser hells, each five hundred yojanas across. They put the offenders in an iron city, and that city is aflame and red within and without and burns the offenders and their skin and flesh are scorched and rotted and ten thousand poisons come at once. And there is a great fire pit with the flames blazing fiercely, and on the two banks of that pit there are great mountains of fire; and they take that offender and run him through on an iron fork and stand him up in the fire, and a further fire burns him and his skin and flesh are scorched and rotted; and, the remainder of the offense not being finished, they are not allowed to die.

Having suffered a long while they come out of the Great Burning to the Black Sand hell, and so on to the Cold Ice, and only then do their lives end. Those who give up the actions with good fruit and do the many evil actions fall into the Great Burning hell.

The great Unremitting hell has sixteen lesser hells, each five hundred yojanas across. They take that offender and strip off his skin from foot to crown, and then wrap the offender’s body in his own skin and bind it to the wheel of a fire-cart and run it over the hot iron ground, going round and back again, and the body is crushed and rotted and the skin and flesh fall away and ten thousand poisons come at once, and so he does not die.

And there is an iron city with fire rising on the four sides, the flames going from east to west and from west to east, and likewise from south and north and above and below; and the blaze goes round and there is no empty place in it, and they run east and west and their bodies are burned and their skin and flesh scorched and rotted, in bitter and sharp pain with ten thousand poisons at once.

The offenders being in it a long while, a gate at last opens; and the offenders run and race toward it, and flames come out of all the joints of their bodies; and just as they are about to reach the gate, the gate shuts of itself. And, the remainder of the offense not being finished, they are not allowed to die.

And further, the offenders in it, lifting their eyes, see nothing but evil forms; their ears hear evil sounds, their noses smell foul odours, their bodies touch bitter pain, and their minds think evil dharmas; and in the space of a finger-snap there is no time that is not suffering. Therefore it is named the Unremitting hell.

Having suffered a long while, their lives end. Those whose actions were of heavy offense are born in evil destinies, and so on to the Cold Ice hell, and only then do their lives end. Those whose actions of heavy offense produce birth in an evil destiny fall into the Unremitting hell, and their offenses cannot be named. Each of the eight great hells has sixteen lesser hells.

Between the two great Vajra Mountains there arises a great wind named Saṃkhya. If this wind were to come to the four continents and the eighty thousand lands, the great earth and all the mountains would rise ten li from the ground, or as much as a hundred li, and fly into the air and be entirely ground to powder — as when a strong man takes light chaff in his hand and scatters it in the air. It is by the two great mountains that this wind is blocked and stopped.

If the wind were to come to the four continents, the streams, rivers, and seas among them would all be dried up. And the wind between the mountains is foul and impure, rank and fiercely stinking; and if it were to come to the four continents it would smoke all beings and they would all lose their eyes. And so these two mountains are of much benefit, and are likewise brought about by the recompense of beings’ deeds.

And between the two mountains there are ten hells: the first named Thick Cloud, the second No Cloud, the third Aha-aha, the fourth Alas, the fifth Sheep’s Bleating, the sixth Sugandhi, the seventh Utpala, the eighth Kumuda, the ninth Puṇḍarīka, the tenth Padma.

Why is it named Thick Cloud? The offenders in the hell grow bodies of themselves like a thick cloud, and so it is named Thick Cloud. Why is it named No Cloud? The beings grow bodies like a lump of flesh, and so it is named No Cloud. Why is it named Aha-aha? Bitter pain cuts the body and they all cry aha-aha, and so it is named Aha-aha. Why is it named Alas? The beings receiving punishment, their pain being bitter and sharp and having nothing to turn to, all cry alas. Why is it named Sheep’s Bleating? The beings receiving punishment, their pain cutting the body, wish to raise their voices and speak and their tongues cannot turn, and it is just like the bleating of sheep.

Why is it named the Sugandhi Flower? The hell is all black like the color of the sugandhi flower. Why is it named the Utpala Flower? The hell is all blue like the utpala flower. Why is it named the Kumuda Flower? The hell is all pink like the color of the kumuda. Why is it named the Puṇḍarīka Flower? The hell is all white like the puṇḍarīka flower. Why is it named the Padma Flower? The hell is all red like the color of the padma flower.

It is as though there were a basket holding sixty-four bushels filled with sesame seeds, and a man took away one seed every hundred years until they were all gone: the offenders in the Thick Cloud hell would not yet have finished their punishment. Twenty lifespans of the Thick Cloud hell equal one lifespan of the No Cloud hell; twenty of the No Cloud equal one of the Aha-aha; twenty of the Aha-aha equal one of the Alas; twenty of the Alas equal one of the Sheep’s Bleating; twenty of the Sheep’s Bleating equal one of the Sugandhi; twenty of the Sugandhi equal one of the Utpala; twenty of the Utpala equal one of the Kumuda; twenty of the Kumuda equal one of the Puṇḍarīka; twenty of the Puṇḍarīka equal one of the Padma; and twenty lifespans of the Padma are called one intermediate kalpa, and twenty intermediate kalpas are called one great kalpa.

In the Padma hell the flames blaze fiercely. When an offender is a hundred yojanas from the fire, the fire has already burned and scorched him; at sixty yojanas both his ears are already deaf and he knows nothing by hearing; at fifty yojanas both his eyes are already blind and he sees nothing more. The monk Kokālika, having harboured an evil mind and slandered Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, when his body broke up and his life ended fell into this Padma hell (Source: Dīrgha Āgama; the Lokasthāna is roughly the same with minor differences).