Description of the Kundas of hell
Yama said—All the pits in the hell are circular like the moon. They are quite deep and have many types of stones arranged in them.
They have been constructed according to the will of the lord; that is why they cannot be destroyed before the time of dissolution. They are of various types and are painful to the sinners.
They have burning flames rising up to a hundred feet, have a circumference of a Kosa. One of them is called Agnikunda. It always remains filled with sinners who cry aloud always. My messengers always protect the kunda, torturing the sinners all the time.
There is a Prataptodakakunda having a diameter of half of Kosa which is filled with wild animals, boiling water, complete darkness and the sinners. My messengers torture the sinners there who cry aloud expressing their grief and fear.
The Taptaksaroda-kunda always remains filled with boiling saline water, having a number of crocodiles and the sinners. It has a circumference of a Kosa and is quite terrific. The sinners cry aloud after having been tortured by my attendants there. They always keep on moving in the same and in the absence of any food, their lips and throat always remain dry.
The Vinmiltra-kunda is filled with refuse and urine and is spread in the area of one Kosa’, it is denounced by everyone and emits a foul smell and is filled with the sinners. They are made to starve there and are tortured by my attendants, as a result of which they cry for hell. Many of the insects bite them severely.
The Kunda is filled with boiling urine and the insects of the urine bite the great sinners. This is named as Mutra-kunda and is spread in an area of two Kosas, covered with darkness where the sinners are always bitten by the insects and are also tortured by my attendants who always cry aloud and their throat, tongue and lips get dried up.
Slesmahinda is always filled with cough and is spread over an area of one Kosa. The area is inhabited by the sinners who consume the cough and are eaten away by the insects daily.
The poison Kunda is spread over an area of half a kosa and the sinners consuming the poison reside there, the insects of the poison always bite them with their fangs resembling those of the snakes and vajra. My terrific messengers torture them who cry aloud while trembling and their throats dry up.
Then there is a Netramala-kunda which is spread over half a kosa and is filled with many types of insects in which the sinners are lodged. Because of their having been bitten by the insects daily they become lean and thin. There is another kunda filled with fat and is spread over an area of four kosas, the sinners who consume the fat are lodged there. They are tortured by my attendants daily.
There is another Siidra-kunda which is filled with semen and is spread over an area of four kosas. The place is inhabited by the terrified sinners who are bitten by the insects of semen as a result of which they cry aloud. It is like a step- well filled with blood emitting a foul smell and is given the name of Rakta-kunda; the sinners who consume the blood are lodged there. The insects eat them up daily,
The Asrukunda is filled with tears and looks like half a portion of the step-well. It is filled with the sinners whom my messengers always torture. Besides, the insects of the place bite them and eat them up; the sinners lodged there consume only the tears. The Karnavit-kunda is filled with ear wax and has the size of four step- wells; it is filled with the sinners who consume the refuse and they are eaten up by the insects, the pain of which they have to bear.
There is a Gatramala-kunda which is filled with the refuse of the human bodies. The sinners consume the same and the messengers torture them daily. The insects bite them daily which keep the sinners quite unhappy.
There is a Majja-lcunda which is filled with the human veins and it emits a terrific evil smell. It is spread over an area of four step-wells.
The Mansa-kunda is filled with human flesh and is spread over an area of a step-well; the sinners are lodged there who are tortured by my messengers. They include those who sell their daughter and they eat the same flesh. They are bitten by the insects and they always cry for hell getting terrified.
There is another kunda named Nakha-kunda which is spread over an area of four step-wells and is filled with the sinners who are tortured by my attendants daily.
The Prataptamra-kunda is encased with copper from all sides. It contains lakhs of images of copper. They are always kept there to torture the sinners who have to embrace the burning images which make them cry aloud. They are beaten by messengers also. The kunda is spread over an area of two kosas.
There is another kunda having the weapon of sharp edged iron and is filled with burning flames; it is surrounded by iron balls which always remain burning and the sinners are required to embrace them. This terrify them and they try to separate themselves from the same but are unsuccessful. On the other hand when they are tortured by the messengers of Yama they cry for help.
There is a Lauha-kunda in which the great sinners dwell. It is spread over an area of four kosas. The Dharma-kunda and Taptasura-kunda are of the size of half a step-well and they are meant for the types of sinners who are beaten by my messengers and have to consume boiling wine.
There is a kunda beneath the Salmali-tree which is filled with sharp edged thorns; it is spread in one kos’a land and very painful. Lakhs of people are lodge there; it is surrounded with sharp edged thorns of the size of arrows.
Those thorns pierce through the bodies of a great sinner which are thrown from the top of the tree. These sinners are further tortured by my attendants. They cry for water but they never get it and their tongues dry. up. Their heads are broken by the strike of rods. Running in the boiling oil, such people suffer badly terrified.
There is another kunda of snakes in which serpents like Taksaka and others bite the sinners who are also tortured by my messengers.
There is another kunda which always remains filled with boiling oil, having no insects, the burning oil is applied on the tender limbs of the sinners. Besides my messengers beat them mercilessly as a result of which they cry aloud; thus this kunda which is filled with great sinners is spread over an area of four kosas.
The kunda which is filled with darkness is spread over an area of one kosa. It is quite horrible and is surrounded by weapons which are terrific, like the tridents and pointed tops and are made of iron. This kunda is named as Sastra- kunda.
There is a kunda named the weapon-fainhu which has beds of spears on which each one of the sinners is made to hang. Thereafter my messengers torture them, as a result of which their throats, lips and tongues get dried up. There is a Krmi-kunda where there are insects with sharp fangs and is filled with great sinners. Those insects bite the sinners daily. Besides my messengers continue to torture them, making them cry-aloud.
There is a kunda which is spread over an area of half a kosa which is filled with puss. It is always filled with sinners who have to consume the same and my messengers always beat them. There is a snow-water kunda which is spread over an area of four kosas. It is filled with snakes of the size of a palm tree; the sinners are dumped therein and the snakes encircle their bodes. My messengers always belabour them making the sinners cry aloud.
There are three kundas which are filled with leeches and mosquitoes. They are all spread in an area of half a kosa each. They remain filled with sinners. Their hands and feet are tied and are soaked in blood. They are crying ha ha words and walking constantly.
Then there are kundas which are filled with scorpions and vajras. They are of the size of step-wells and are filled with the scorpions and vajras. They are of the size of a step-well and are filled with evil-doers they are pierced with arrows. They appear red having been soaked with blood. Such kundas are half the size of a step-well.
The Gola-kunda is filled with boiling mud and darkness. The sinners are bitten by the insects there. Such a kunda is half the size of a step-well. The Nakra-kunda always remains filled with crores of crocodiles which are horrible in appearance. The sinners are bitten by them.
Similarly there are kundas of refuse, urine and cough in which crows peck at the bodies of the sinners. Such kundas are called Vinmutraslesma- kundas. They are spread over an area of a lakh of yojanas.
The Sancala and Vaja-kunda are filled with birds where the sinners in large number have to reside. The birds eat up the sinners daily as a result of which they cry aloud.
The vajra-kunda is of the size of a hundred bows in area, is filled with vajra and always remains dark. The sinners lodged in that kunda always cry with pain caused by the vajra. They are spread over double the area of a step-well.
There is Pasana-kunda which is of double the size of a step-well and is filled with stones which are always burning hot. The sinners are made to sit on them, who cry aloud. Then there is a sharp- arrow kunda having sharp blades made of stones. The sinners are tortured with them which are filled with blood and wounds.
The Ldla-kunda is filled with bad smell and spit. The sinners have to consume the same. It is spread over an area of half a kosa. My messengers torture the sinners badly. The kunda of boiling water is quite black in colour, like the collyrium and is spread over an area of a hundred bows. It remains filled with sinners who are tortured by my messengers and cry aloud.
There is a kunda of melted metals which is spread over an area of one kosa and is filled with sinners. The sinners have to consume the same liquid which keeps on burning. On the other hand my messengers also torture them. There is a Cakra-kunda which is like the potter’s wheels and keeps on moving. It has saws and tusks on which the sinners are made to sit.
It is quite deep and is spread over an area of four kosas and appears like a cave filled with boiling water. It is quite dark and terrific in size; many of the great sinners are lodged there who are consumed by aquatic animals daily and they keep on crying.
The Kurma-kundas is filled with crores of tortoises of gigantic size who surround the sinners and eat them daily. There is a kunda of multitude flames, built with lustre, which is spread in the area of one kos’a, where the sinners are crying for help and walking continuously.
There is a kunda of hot ashes which is spread over an area of one kosa and is quite deep. It is filled with many sinners who wander about. They have to consume the burning ashes daily.
One of the kundas is filled with burning rocks and earth having a large number of sinners lodged therein. Their bodies are badly burnt and the tongue is dried up completely.
It is spread over an area of one kosa and is dark and quite deep. The terrific messengers of Yama always torture them. It is called the Dagdha-kunda.
One of the kundas is filled with innumerable waves of hot and saline water having a large number of aquatic animals. It is spread over an area of four kosas and is quite deep and full of darkness. The sinners are eaten by the aquatic animals daily where they cry aloud but they are unable to see one another in darkness. This kunda is called Uttaptasiirmi-kunda.
There are forests having trees with leaves as sharp as sharp-edged swords and the leaves of palm trees. This kunda is spread over an area of half a kosa and the falling leaves of the palm tree injures many sinners and the blood always keeps oozing from their bodies who cry for help. Besides, in the darkness red-coloured insects torture the evil souls. This is called Asipatra kunda.
The kunda which is spread over an area of a hundred bows has sharp-edged weapons like daggers and swords, is filled with evil souls who are injured by these weapons. This kunda is called KsuradhUr-lainda.
The Siicikamukha hell has weapons having their tips as sharp as the tip of a needle; it makes the evil souls to undergo considerable agony.
The Godhamukha lainda is of the shape of a lizard. It is quite terrific and has the shape of a lizard spreading over an area of twenty bows. The great sinners have to suffer considerable torture in this kunda. The insects of the kunda eat away the sinners quite badly.
The Nakra-kunda is filled with many of the terrible aquatic animals including crocodiles. It is spread over an area of sixteen bows. It is quite deep like a well and is covered with darkness and is filled with the sinners. There is another kunda which is infested with elephants or tuskers who injure the sinners with their tusks.
Many of the insects bite them severely and they cry always helplessly. This kunda is spread over an area of a hundred bows and is known by the name of Gajadamsana.
The Gomukha-kunda is spread over an area of three bows, is circular in shape and is filled with the sinners who are tortured there.
The Kalacakra-kunda, has a Kdlacakra which always keeps on rotating. It is quite terrific to look at and resembles a pitcher. It is also called the Kumbhipaka hell. It is spread over an area of four kosas and filled with darkness. Its death is equivalent to a lakh of humans. The Taptataila- kimda, Lauhadi-kunda and Tamradi-kunda and Taptapasana-kunda form part of the same kunda (Kumbhlpaka-kunda). It always remains filled with great sinners who are unable to see any one and cry again and again. They faint quite often and sometimes they fall unconscious. The messengers of Yama throw them from considerable heights.
O beautiful one. the number of sinners lodged in the Kumbhipaka hell excels the collective number of the sinners of all other kundas.
The Kumbhipaka hell is the topmost of all the hells where the sinners have to remain after shedding their human body. Such of the sinners as are tied in the kalasiitra are lifted up by my messengers and the next moment they are drowned again.
The sinners remain captive in all the kundas for long and go on breathing. Their bodies which have to suffer all the pain and torture never die. On the other hand my messengers beat them with rods, clubs and many other weapons. The hell always remains filled with boiling water and is known as the kcilasiitra hell.
The Avata-hell is of the shape of a well filled with water. That is why it is known as a part of the well. It is filled with boiling water in an area of twenty-four bows, where a large number of sinners reside whose bodies always remain burning and on the other hand my messengers keep on torturing them. Such a place is called Avatoda-hell.
After having a fall in a kunda of the size of a hundred bows and with the touch of its water, the body of the sinners attract ailments. All the sinners are stuck up there and have to suffer. They cry aloud continuously. That is why the wise people call it Arunliida hell.
Covered with burning ashes and the bodies of the sinners, the kunda always remains filled with them. All the sinners have to consume the burning ashes. It is spread over an area of a hundred bows and sinners start trembling as soon as they fall in it. They are then tied in a noose. The kunda is spread over an area of one kosa. This is called the Pasavestana hell. The kunda known as Scdaprota hell is spread over an area of twenty bows. As soon as the sinners fall in it, they are tom with the tridents and start trembling. It is filled with snow and is spread over an area of half a kosa. It has been named as Prakampana hell where our messengers insert burning flames into the mouths of the sinners. It is spread over an area of twenty bows and is infested with comets. It has therefore been named as Ulkamukha hell. This one keeps lakhs of people together and is quite deep and spread over an area of a hundred bows infested with terrific insects and is filled with darkness, having the form of a circular well. It is filled with all the sinners who are unable to see one another and they keep on suffering in the boiling water and the biting of the insects. Since it is pitch dark there, nothing is visible. It is therefore called the andhakupa hell.
The hell where the sinners are tortured with various weapons is spread over an area of twenty bows. It is called the Vedhana-kunda.
The place at which our messengers torture the sinner is spread over an area of sixteen bows. It is called Dandatadana-kunda.
The place where the sinners are trapped like the fish in a net is spread over an area of thirty bows and is known as Jalabaddha-kunda.
This is the kunda in which the bodies of sinners are reduced to pieces when they fall and where a number of pedestals are made which can accommodate crores of people. It is quite deep and dark. It is spread over an area of twenty bows. It is called the Dehaciima-kunda for those who fall in it, faint and become motionless.
The kunda in which my messengers torture the sinners with clubs in their hands, is spread over an area of sixteen bows. It is called Dalana- kunda.
The kunda in which the sinners, while falling, have their throat, lips and tongues dried up, is filled with burning sand and is spread over an area of thirty bows, is deep as much as a hundred humans. It is filled with darkness, is deprived of water. It is called the Sosana- kunda.
The kunda which is filled with leather giving out a bad smell, is spread over an area of a hundred bows. It is infested with evil smells and the sinners feed on the same.
The kunda of the shape of a winnowing basket is spread over an area of twelve bows. It has the sands burning like iron and is filled with sinners.
О beautiful one, the kunda in which heaps of fire are found and the flames of fire keep on burning, has to be faced by the sinners. The flames of fire emerge from their bodies. The one which always inflicts terrific pain is called Jvalamukha kunda.
The kunda in which the sinners lose their senses after a fall, the inner part of which always remains burning and which is spread over an area of half a step-well, is called Jihma-kunda.
The kunda which is filled with darkness like a well and blinded by the smoke inside, is filled with sinners. It is spread over an area of a hundred bows and is know by the name of Dlmmandha hell.
The kunda in which the sinners are encircled by the serpents with their fall and which is spread over an area of a hundred bows, is filled with snakes. Ii is called the Ndgaveslcma kunda.
I have thus spelt out the details of eighty kundas with their names and definitions, what else do you want to listen io from me further?
