Sufferings that souls of the wicked endure in Yama Loka. (punishment, hell)

[Hema]

Whilst Hindus do not believe in a permanent hell, there are temporary hellish regions where souls of the wicked go to suffer before they move on. The demigod Yamraja is said to be in charge of these regions.

http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/dying.htm

"At the moment of death the following things take place. If the person is impious and quite sinful, the messengers of Yamaraja, called the Yamadutas, fierce, horrible looking persons with twisted features, copper red flaming hairs that stand on end, black in complexion and frightening to behold, appear at the deathbed of the person in question and drag him forcibly from his body with ropes and chains. This scene so frightens the person that he literally dies of fright. They then pack up the subtle body of the person in a bag, where they take the soul, now covered only by the subtle body of mind, intelligence and false ego, to the abode of Yamaraja for judgement. He is taken over long stretches of hot, dry sands, and along the way he is insulted in various ways by other horrible creatures and bitten by dogs. He is suffering terribly on this journey and he wishes it would end."

The following are only a FEW detailed descriptions from:
http://vedabase.net/sb/5/26/en1

"SB 5.26.12: Punishment in the hell called Maharaurava is compulsory for a person who maintains his own body by hurting others. In this hell, ruru animals known as kravyada torment him and eat his flesh.

SB 5.26.13: For the maintenance of their bodies and the satisfaction of their tongues, cruel persons cook poor animals and birds alive. Such persons are condemned even by man-eaters. In their next lives they are carried by the Yamadutas to the hell known as Kumbhipaka, where they are cooked in boiling oil.

SB 5.26.20: A man or woman who indulges in sexual intercourse with an unworthy member of the opposite sex is punished after death by the assistants of Yamaraja in the hell known as Taptasurmi. There such men and women are beaten with whips. The man is forced to embrace a red-hot iron form of a woman, and the woman is forced to embrace a similar form of a man. Such is the punishment for illicit sex."

Interesting to read, ain't it?

[mahesh]

Yes it is very. You should read the Yamdand in the Nishkulanand Kavya! Thats detailed and scares the wits out of people.

Jai

[mahesh]

Yes it is very. You should read the Yamdand in the Nishkulanand Kavya! Thats detailed and scares the wits out of people.

Jai Swaminarayan

[Pariah]

I hesitate to comment in affirmation, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Mahesh-
Is the "Nishkulanand Kavya" a Swaminarayan text, or is it mainstream Hinduism?

[mahesh]

Its a Swaminarayan text bro.

[Hema]

Originally Posted by mahesh

Thats detailed and scares the wits out of people.

Jai

I guess if we know that we're doing the right thing, we can trust in God and fear nothing. I've also read stories where at the time of death, Yamraj's servants came but when the dying person chanted the name of God, he/she was saved. It is very important to remember God with our last thought...as you probably already know.

[Hema]

Originally Posted by Pariah

I hesitate to comment in affirmation, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Why do you hesitate?

[Hema]

Originally Posted by mahesh

Its a Swaminarayan text bro.

Is it similar to the Garud Puran? I think the Garud Puran describes a lot about Yamraj but my dad says not to take it on seriously because it's a Smriti text.

For anyone who is familiar with the Garud Puran, do you think it carries a lot of credibility? I'm not too familiar with it, but I listened to a couple readings by a Pundit when my Grandmother (Nani) died...that was years ago!

[michaelm]

There was once a miser, who was always worrying about his business and his money. He believed that if you die with God's name on your lips you will be blessed with a favourable birth, regardless of how you lived oyour life. Being cunning, he named his children after the Gods...Krishna, Rama, Kali, Durga, Shiva etc.

When finally he lay dying on his death bed he put his cunning plan into action. First he called out for his eldest child, Krishna. He came and he talked to him, constantly calling him by his name, but he eventually ran out of things to say to him, so he called his next child, Rama, but again ran out of things to say. This continued until all his children had been spoken to at length. Finally they were all gathered around his bed in silence. Suddenly he remembered something to say. "Listen all of you, dont forget about the money I lent out to people." and with that he died.

Moral, the only way to ensure good thoughts are in your mind at the moment of death, is to live a life in which good thoughts are habitually in your mind.

That is what spiritual practice is all about, creating good habits.