(Seven levels of Jain hell and various tortures suffered in them. Left panel depicts the demi-god and his animal vehicle presiding over the each hell.)

Egoism based on the body is what is meant by Naraka or Hell. (DhyV, p. 12)

The concept of Hell is foreign to the spiritual thought of the ‘Bharatiyas’. The idea of Hell and its various descriptions are all later additions in the Shastras and Puranas. The authors of these texts believed that religion would be incomplete if it did not contain Hell. They laid down diverse tortures as part of Hell.

But they laid down one limit to the pain Hell inflicts. They declared that there can be no death in Hell. The purpose for which Hell was created was only to create fear among people in order to make them desist from sin. But non-duality does not contain Heaven or Hell. It is concerned with bondage and liberation, ignorance and illumination. It is known as ‘Vedanta’. There is no faith higher than what Vedanta stands for. (UDC IV, p. 9)

(See – Contentment, Escape, Responsible)

(Hindu Hell.)