Yama's Messengers and the Path to Hell

Sanatkumara said

By committing the four kinds of sins men go to Yama's world. All embodied beings enter that terrible, fearful place: this holds for all, those in the womb, those being born, children, young people, the middle-aged, men, women, eunuchs and all that have life. Chitragupta and the others, with Vasishtha as chief, reflect on the good and bad deeds of embodied beings. No living being fails to go to Yama's eternal abode. Any deed done must certainly be enjoyed, and one should think on this. Those who do good, mild in disposition and compassionate, enter Yama's abode by the calm eastern gate. Those who have sinned and never given enter by the terrible southern gate. Vaivasvata's city has many forms and extends eighty-six thousand yojanas. To those who do good it seems near.

Sinners, however, must walk a terrible road for a long distance. It is covered in sharp thorns and strewn with sand, made of stones sharp as a razor's edge. In places sinners walk through mud, with darbha grass like iron needles tearing their thighs. Elsewhere there are rough slopes covered in mountains and trees. They are wretched on a path of burning coal. There are uneven pits in places and rocks hard to cross, hot sand and sharp spikes, sometimes clumps of bamboo with spreading branches. With difficulty they travel in darkness, searching for anything to hold. In places there are heaps of sharp iron lumps, sometimes forest fire, sometimes heated boulders, and elsewhere no heat but ice. Sometimes they sink in sand up to the neck, sometimes there are stretches of foul water, sometimes burning excrement, sometimes terrible lions, wolves, tigers and gnats, leeches, pythons, flies and poisonous snakes, and herds of strong, mad elephants that crush everything. On the road they are pierced and wounded by the fangs of boars, the horns of buffaloes, all kinds of predators, terrible dakinis and fierce rakshasas. They suffer terrible diseases, are pierced on all sides by great showers of arrows, struck by lightning, rained on by meteors and burning coals, shrouded in dust and weeping, terrified again and again by the thunder of huge clouds, mangled by showers of sharp weapons from every direction and drenched with acid rain. Rough, harsh, very cold winds strike them from every direction and dry and shrivel them. Such is the horrible road, without food or support, impassable, waterless in every direction, long, uneven and desolate, wrapped in darkness. Without any support, the wicked must suffer on it. Yama's horrible messengers forcibly carry out his command, taking along it all foolish embodied beings who have sinned. A sinner is alone, under another's control, without friends or relatives. He regrets his deeds and weeps again and again. He becomes a naked preta, with parched throat, lips and palate, never at peace, scared and terrified, burned and hungry. Some are bound in chains with their legs stretched upward and forcibly dragged by Yama's messengers. For some the heads hang over the chests and they are miserable as they are dragged. Some have nooses around their hair and are dragged by ropes; some are dragged with stakes fixed in their foreheads, hanging down, along a road strewn with thorns and burning coal. Some have their hands tied behind them and are struck in the stomach. Some are covered in chains, others have nails in their hands, others go wretchedly with nooses round their throats pulling them. Others are dragged by ropes with stakes through their tongues, or through their noses, or through their shattered foreheads and lips. For some the tips of hands and feet are cut off; for others, ears, lips and noses; for some, the sexual organs are cut off; for others, limbs are mangled and joints broken. They are struck with spikes and pierced with arrows and run here and there screaming with no support. They are repeatedly struck with iron clubs and staffs. There are many kinds of terrible thorns blazing like the sun. They are mangled by catapults and exude pus and blood. Helpless, men are dragged through worms and excrement, hungry and thirsty, begging for water and food, wanting shade and suffering from cold and fire. Men who never gave anything travel so, seeking happiness. But those who did give find food and happiness on the road to Yama's abode.

So, taken through miseries, they reach the city of pretas. The messengers announce them and present them to Yama. Yama honours those who did good deeds, welcomes them, lovingly gives them a seat, foot water and offering water, and tells them they are blessed and great-souled, they have acted according to the nigama texts and by their good deeds are entitled to divine happiness; let them board divine vimanas, adorn themselves, enjoy divine women and go to bright heaven full of every object of desire. When they have enjoyed great pleasures there and their good deeds are exhausted they will return here to suffer whatever small bad deeds they may have done. He treats men with dharma in their selves like friends, like his own self, and they see Dharmaraja's amiable face. But those who did cruel deeds see his terrible face, fanged and cruel, eyes knit and brows furrowed, hair on end, a large beard, quivering lips, eighteen arms and anger, like a mass of black collyrium. He holds every kind of weapon, strikes with every kind of staff, rides a giant buffalo, his eyes like blazing fire, in red garlands and garments, as tall as Meru. His voice is like a cloud's thunder at dissolution, as if he would drink up the ocean, devour great mountains and vomit fire. Mrityu stands near him, bright as the fire of destruction, and the Destroyer, terrible as black collyrium. Yama has other companions, Mari, fierce Mahamari and terrible Kalaratri, and many kinds of diseases, leprosy and others, terrible and many-formed, holding javelins, spears, goads, nooses and discuses, fierce, with snouts hard as vajra, with razors, quivers and bows, all terrible and very valiant with many weapons, innumerable, like masses of black collyrium. All Yama's messengers are terrible and all hold upraised weapons. Terrible to see, he is surrounded by them all. Sinners see Yama and terrible Chitragupta. Yama severely reprimands those who have sinned, and illustrious Chitragupta uses words of dharma to make them understand.