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I am editing and adding more right now. This covers so many things and angles that it would need to be taken very gradually and can help to take personal notes on paper as well as drawing the diagrams explained as memory tools.
From Zoroastrianism:
http://www.avesta.org/pahlavi/viraf.htmlIn Hinduism:
” Naraka (Sanskrit: नरक) is the Hindu equivalent of Hell, where sinners are tormented after death.[1] It is also the abode of Yama, the god of Death. It is described as located in the south of the universe and beneath the earth.The number and names of hells, as well as the type of sinners sent to a particular hell, varies from text to text; however, many scriptures describe 28 hells.[1] After death, messengers of Yama called Yamadutas bring all beings to the court of Yama, where he weighs the virtues and the vices of the being and passes a judgement, sending the virtuous to Svarga (heaven) and the sinners to one of the hells. The stay in Svarga or Naraka is generally described as temporary. After the quantum of punishment is over, the souls are reborn as lower or higher beings as per their merits.[1] In a few texts, hell is described as a bottomless pit of darkness where souls are trapped for eternity and deprived of rebirth.
Location Edit
The Bhagavata Purana describes Naraka as beneath the earth: between the seven realms of the underworld (Patala) and the Garbhodaka Ocean, which is the bottom of the universe. It is located in the South of the universe. Pitrloka, where the dead ancestors (Pitrs) headed by Agniṣvāttā reside, is also located in this region. Yama, the Lord of Naraka, resides in this realm with his assistants.[2] The Devi Bhagavata Purana mentions that Naraka is the southern part of universe, below the earth but above Patala.[3] The Vishnu Purana mentions that it is located below the cosmic waters at the bottom of the universe.[4] The Hindu epics too agree that Naraka is located in the South, the direction which is governed by Yama and is often associated with Death. Pitrloka is considered as the capital of Yama, from where Yama delivers his justice.[5]
Administration Edit
Court of Yama, c. 1800
The god of Death, Yama, employs Yama-dutas (messengers of Yama) or Yama-purushas, who bring souls of all beings to Yama for judgement.[2] Generally, all living beings, including humans and animals, go to Yama’s abode upon death where they are judged. However, very virtuous beings are taken directly to Svarga (heaven). People devoted to charity, especially donors of food, and eternal truth speakers are spared the justice of Yama’s court. War-heroes who sacrifice their life and people dying in holy places like Kurukshetra are also described as avoiding Yama.[5] Those who get moksha (salvation) also escape from the clutches of yamadutas.[2] Those who are generous and ascetics are given preferential treatment when entering Naraka for judgement. The way is lighted for those who donated lamps, while those who underwent religious fasting are carried by peacocks and geese.[5]Yama, as Lord of Justice, is called Dharma-raja.[5] Yama sends the virtuous to Svarga to enjoy the luxuries of paradise. He also assesses the vices of the dead and accords judgement, assigning them to appropriate hells as punishment commensurate with the severity and nature of their sins.[2][3] A person is not freed of samsara (the cycle of birth-death-rebirth) and must take birth again after his prescribed pleasure in Svarga or punishment in Naraka is over.[2]
Yama is aided by his minister Chitragupta, who maintains a record of all good and evil actions of every living being.[6] Yama-dhutas are also assigned the job of executing the punishments on sinners in the various hells.[2]
Number and names Edit
Naraka, as a whole, is known by many names conveying that it is the realm of Yama. Yamālaya, Yamaloka, Yamasādana and Yamalokāya mean the abode of Yama. Yamakṣaya (the akṣaya of Yama) and its equivalents like Vaivasvatakṣaya use pun for the word kṣaya, which can be mean abode or destruction. It is also called Saṃyamanī, “where only truth is spoken, and the weak torment the strong”, Mṛtyulokāya – the world of Death or of the dead and the “city of the king of ghosts”, Pretarājapura.[5]
The Agni Purana mentions only 4 hells.[1] Some texts mention 7 hells: Put (“childless”, for the childless), Avichi (“waveless”, for those waiting for reincarnation), Samhata (“abandoned”, for evil beings), Tamisra (“darkness”, where darkness of hells begin), Rijisha (“expelled”, where torments of hell begin), Kudmala (“leprous”, the worst hell for those who are going to be reincarnated) and Kakola (“black poison”, the bottomless pit, for those who are eternally condemned to hell and have no chance of reincarnation).[7][8][9]
The Manu Smriti mentions 21 hells: Tamisra, Andhatamisra, Maharaurava, Raurava, Kalasutra, Mahanaraka, Samjivana, Mahavichi, Tapana, Sampratapana, Samhata, Sakakola, Kudmala, Putimrittika, Lohasanku, Rijisha, Pathana, Vaitarani, Salmali, Asipatravana and Lohadaraka.[10] The Yajnavalkya Smriti also lists twenty-one: Tamisra, Lohasanku, Mahaniraya, Salamali, Raurava, Kudmala, Putimrittika, Kalasutraka, Sanghata, Lohitoda, Savisha, Sampratapana, Mahanaraka, Kakola, Sanjivana, Mahapatha, Avichi, Andhatamisra, Kumbhipaka, Asipatravana and Tapana.[11]
The Bhagavata Purana, the Vishnu Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana enlist and describe 28 hells; however, they end the description by stating that there are hundreds and thousands of hells.[2][3][4][12] The Bhagavata Purana enumerates the following 28: Tamisra, Andhatamisra, Raurava, Maharaurava, Kumbhipaka, Kalasutra, Asipatravana, Sukaramukha, Andhakupa, Krimibhojana, Samdamsa, Taptasurmi, Vajrakantaka-salmali, Vaitarani, Puyoda, Pranarodha, Visasana, Lalabhaksa, Sarameyadana, Avichi, Ayahpana, Ksharakardama, Raksogana-bhojana, Sulaprota, Dandasuka, Avata-nirodhana, Paryavartana and Suchimukha.[2] The Devi Bhagavata Purana agrees with the Bhagavata Purana in most of names; however, a few names are slightly different. Taptasurmi, Ayahpana, Raksogana-bhojana, Avata-nirodhana, Paryavartana are replaced by Taptamurti, Apahpana, Raksogana-sambhoja, Avatarodha, Paryavartanataka respectively.[3] The Vishnu Purana mentions the 28 in the following order: Raurava, Shukara, Rodha, Tala, Visasana, Mahajwala, Taptakumbha, Lavana, Vimohana, Rudhirandha, Vaitaraní, Krimiśa, Krimibhojana, Asipatravana, Krishna, Lalabhaksa, Dáruńa, Púyaváha, Pápa, Vahnijwála, Adhośiras, Sandansa, Kalasutra, Tamas, Avichi, Śwabhojana, Apratisht́ha, and another Avichi.[4]
Description of hells Edit
Various sins and corresponding punishments in hells.
Early texts like the Rigveda do not have a detailed description of Naraka. It is simply a place of evil and a dark bottomless pit. The Atharvaveda describes a realm of darkness, where murderers are confined after death.The Shatapatha Brahmana is the first text to mention the pain and suffering of Naraka in detail, while the Manu Smriti begins naming the multiple hells.[12] The epics also describe Hell in general terms as a dense jungle without shade, where there is no water and no rest. The Yamadutas torment souls on the orders of their master.[5]
The names of many of hells is common in Hindu texts; however, the nature of sinners tormented in particular hells varies from text to text.
The summary of twenty-eight hells described in the Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana are as follows:[2][3]
Tamisra (darkness): It is intended for a person who grabs another’s wealth, wife or children. In this dark realm, he is bound with ropes and starved without food or water. He is beaten and reproached by Yamadutas till he faints.[2][3]
Andhatamisra (blind-darkness): Here, a man – who deceives another man and enjoys his wife or children – is tormented to the extent he loses his consciousness and sight. The torture is described as cutting the tree at its roots.[2][3]
Raurava (fearful or hell of rurus): As per the Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana, it is assigned for a person who cares about his own and his family’s good, but harms other living beings and is always envious of others. The living beings hurt by such a man take the form of savage serpent-like beasts called rurus and torture this person.[2][3] The Vishnu Purana deems this hell fit for a false witness or one who lies.[4]
Maharaurava (great-fearful): A person who indulges at the expense of other beings is afflicted with pain by fierce rurus called kravyadas, who eat his flesh.[2][3]
Kumbhipaka (cooked in a pot): A person who cooks animals and birds is cooked alive in boiling oil by Yamadutas here, for as many years as there were hairs on the bodies of their animal victims.[2][3]
Kalasutra (thread of Time/Death): The Bhagavata Purana assigns this hell to a murderer of a brahmin (the Hindu priestly caste),[2] while the Devi Bhagavata Purana allocates it for a person who disrespects his parents, elders, ancestors or brahmins.[3] This realm is made entirely of copper and extremely hot, heated by fire from below and the red hot sun from above. Here, the sinner burns from within by hunger and thirst and the smouldering heat outside, whether he sleeps, sits, stands or runs.[2][3]
Asipatravana/Asipatrakanana (forest of sword leaves): The Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana reserve this hell for a person who digresses from the religious teachings of the Vedas and indulges in heresy.[2][3] The Vishnu Purana states that wanton tree-felling leads to this hell.[4] Yamadutas beat them with whips as they try to run away in the forest where palm trees have swords as leaves. Afflicted with injury of whips and swords, they faint and cry out for help in vain.[2][3]
Shukaramukha (hog’s mouth): It houses kings or government officials who punish the innocent or grant corporal punishment to a Brahmin. Yamadutas crush him as sugar cane is crushed to extract juice. He will yell and scream in agony, just as the guiltless suffered.[2][3]
Andhakupa (well with its mouth hidden): It is the hell where a person who harms others with the intention of malice and harms insects is confined. He is attacked by birds, animals, reptiles, mosquitoes, lice, worms, flies and others, who deprive him of rest and compel him to run hither and thither.[2][3]
Krimibhojana/Krimibhaksha (worm-food): As per the Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana, it is where a person who does not share his food with guests, elders, children or the gods, and selfishly eats it alone, and he who eats without performing the five yajnas (panchayajna) is chastised.[2][3] The Vishnu Purana states that one who loathes his father, Brahmins or the gods and who destroys jewels is punished here.[4] This hell is a 100,000 yojana lake filled with worms. The sinful person is reduced to a worm, who feeds on other worms, who in turn devour his body for 100,000 years.[2][3]
Sandansa/Sandamsa (hell of pincers): The Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana state that a person who robs a Brahmin or steals jewels or gold from someone, when not in dire need, is confined to this hell.[2][3] However, the Vishnu Purana tells the violators of vows or rules endure pain here.[4] His body is torn by red-hot iron balls and tongs.[2][3]
Taptasurmi/Taptamurti (red-hot iron statue): A man or woman who indulges in illicit sexual relations with a woman or man is beaten by whips and forced to embrace red-hot iron figurines of the opposite sex.[2][3]
Vajrakantaka-salmali (the silk-cotton tree with thorns like thunderbolts/vajras): A person who has sexual intercourse with animals or who has excessive coitus is tied to the Vajrakantaka-salmali tree and pulled by Yamadutas so that the thorns tear his body.[2][3]
Vaitarni/Vaitarna (to be crossed): It is a river that is believed to lie between Naraka and the earth. This river, which forms the boundary of Naraka, is filled with excreta, urine, pus, blood, hair, nails, bones, marrow, flesh and fat, where fierce aquatic beings eat the person’s flesh. As per the Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana, a person born in a respectable family – kshatriya (warrior-caste), royal family or government official – who neglects his duty is thrown into this river of hell.[2][3] The Vishnu Purana assigns it to the destroyer of a bee-hive or a town.[4]
Various sins and corresponding punishments in hells.
Puyoda (water of pus): Shudras (workmen-caste) and husbands or sexual partners of lowly women and prostitutes – who live like animals devoid of cleanliness and good behaviour – fall in Puyoda, the ocean of pus, excreta, urine, mucus, saliva and other repugnant things. Here, they are forced to eat these disgusting things.[2][3]Pranarodha (obstruction to life): Some Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas (merchant caste) indulge in the sport of hunting with their dogs and donkeys in the forest, resulting in wanton killing of animals. Yamadutas play archery sport with them as the targets in this hell.[2][3]
Visashana (murderous): The Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana mention that Yamadutas whip a person, who has pride of his rank and wealth and sacrifices animals as a status symbol, and finally kill him.[2][3] The Vishnu Purana associates it with the maker of spears, swords, and other weapons.[4]
Lalabhaksa (saliva as food): As per the Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana, a Brahmin, a Ksahtriya or a Vaishya husband, who forces his wife to drink his semen out of lust and to enforce his control, is thrown in a river of semen, which he is forced to drink.[2][3] The Vishnu Purana disagrees stating that one who eats before offering food to the gods, the ancestors or guests is brought to this hell.[4]
Sarameyadana (hell of the sons of Sarama): Plunderers who burn houses and poison people for wealth, and kings and other government officials who grab money of merchants, mass murder or ruin the nation, are cast into this hell. Seven hundred and twenty ferocious dogs, the sons of Sarama, with razor-sharp teeth, prey on them at the behest of Yamadutas.[2][3]
Avici/Avicimat (waterless/waveless): A person, who lies on oath or in business, is repeatedly thrown head-first from a 100 yojana high mountain whose sides are stone waves, but without water. His body is continuously broken, but it is made sure that he does not die.[2][3]
Ayahpana (iron-drink): Anybody else under oath or a Brahmin who drinks alcohol is punished here. Yamadutas stand on their chests and force them to drink molten-iron.[2][3]
Ksarakardama (acidic/saline mud/filth): One who in false pride, does not honour a person higher than him by birth, austerity, knowledge, behaviour, caste or spiritual order, is tortured in this hell. Yamadutas throw him head-first and torment him.[2][3]
Raksogana-bhojana (food of Rakshasas): Those who practise human-sacrifice and cannibalism are condemned to this hell. Their victims, in the form of Rakshasas, cut them with sharp knives and swords. The Rakshasas feast on their blood and sing and dance in joy, just as the sinners slaughtered their victims.[2][3]
Shulaprota (pierced by sharp pointed spear/dart): Some people give shelter to birds or animals pretending to be their saviours, but then harass them poking with threads, needles or using them like lifeless toys. Also, some people behave the same way to humans, winning their confidence and then killing them with sharp tridents or lances. The bodies of such sinners, fatigued with hunger and thirst, are pierced with sharp, needle-like spears. Ferocious carnivorous birds like vultures and herons tear and gorge their flesh.[2][3]
Dandasuka (snakes): Filled with envy and fury, some people harm others like snakes. These are destined to be devoured by five or seven hooded serpents in this hell.[2][3]
Avata-nirodhana (confined in a hole): People who imprison others in dark wells, crannies or mountain caves are pushed into this hell, a dark well engulfed with poisonous fumes and smoke that suffocates them.[2][3]
Paryavartana (returning): A householder who welcomes guests with cruel glances and abuses them is restrained in this hell. Hard-eyed vultures, herons, crows and similar birds gaze on them and suddenly fly and pluck his eyes.[2][3]
Sucimukha (needle-face): An ever-suspicious man is always wary of people trying to grab his wealth. Proud of his money, he sins to gain and to retain it. Yamadutas stitch thread through his whole body in this hell.[2][3]
Though the Vishnu Purana mentions 28 hells, it gives information only about sinners condemned in 21 hells and does not give details about the punishments. The hells described in the Vishnu Purana, but not in the Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana are as follows:[4]
Rodha (obstruction): A causer of abortion, a murderer of a cow, a plunderer or one who strangles a man is cast here.
Sukara (hog): A murderer of a Brahmin, a stealer of gold or an alcoholic and those all associated with them fall into this hell.
Tala (padlock): Murder of a Kshatriya or a Vaishya and adultery with wife of a religious leader leads here.
Taptakumbha (hot pots): Incest with sister and murderer of an ambassador results in torment in this hell.
Taptaloha (hot iron): A wife-seller, a jailer and one who abandons his followers is tortured here.
Mahajwala (great-fire): Incest with daughter or daughter-in-law brings one here.
Lavana (salt): One who vilifies his guru, people superior to them or the Vedas go to this hell.
Vimohana (the place of bewildering): A thief or those who despise prescribed observances are tormented here.
Krimisha (hell of insects): One who uses magic to harm others is condemned here.
Vedhaka (piercing): The maker of arrows is damned to this hell.
Adhomukha (head-inverted): He who takes bribes, an astrologer and he who worships improper objects is cast here.
Púyaváha (where matter falls): A Brahmin who sells lac, meat, alcohol, salt; he who commits violence and he who eats sweets without sharing falls in this hell.
Rudhirándha (wells of blood): Wrestlers or boxers who commit violence for entertainment, fishermen, followers of bastards, arsonists, poisoners, informants, fortune-tellers, traitors, those who have coitus on sacred taboo days and those who live off their wives’ prostitution are cast here.
Krishna (dark/black): A fraudster, a trespasser and one who causes impotence is cast into this hell.
Vahnijwala (fiery flame): Potters, hunters and shepherds and others are punished here.
Shwabhojana (food of dogs): A religious student who sleeps in the day and one who does not have spiritual knowledge and learns it from children are damned here. ”
[hr]
” In the Book of Enoch, the Watchers (Aramaicעִירִין, iyrin) are angels dispatched to Earth to watch over the humans. They soon begin to lust for human women and, at the prodding of their leader Samyaza, defect en masse to illicitly instruct humanity and procreate among them. The offspring of these unions are the Nephilim, savage giants who pillage the earth and endanger humanity.Samyaza and his associates further taught their human charges arts and technologies such as weaponry, cosmetics, mirrors,sorcery, and other techniques that would otherwise be discovered gradually over time by humans, not foisted upon them all at once. Eventually God allows a Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim, but first sends Uriel to warn Noah so as not to eradicate the human race. The Watchers are bound “in the valleys of the Earth” until Judgment Day. (Jude verse 6 says that these fallen angels are kept “in everlasting chains under darkness” until Judgement Day.)The chiefs of tens, listed in the Book of Enoch, are as follows:
7. And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl,Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl,Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl,Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl,Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl,Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. 8. These are their chiefs of tens.— R. H. Charles translation, The Book of the Watchers, Chapter VI.
The book of Enoch also lists leaders of the 200 fallen angels who married and commenced in unnatural union with human women, and who taught forbidden knowledge. Some are also listed in Book of Raziel (Sefer Raziel HaMalakh), the Zohar, and Jubilees.
[list]
[*]Araqiel (also Arakiel, Araqael, Araciel, Arqael, Sarquael, Arkiel, Arkas) taught humans the signs of the earth. However, in theSibylline Oracles, Araqiel is referred to not as afallen angel, or Watcher, but as one of the fiveangels who lead the souls of men to judgement, the other four being Ramiel, Uriel,Samiel, and Azazel.
[*]Armaros (also Amaros) in Enoch I taught men the resolving of enchantments.
[*]Azazel taught men to make knives, swords, shields, and how to devise ornaments and cosmetics.
[*]Gadreel (or Gader’el) taught the art of cosmetics, the use of weapons and killing blows.
[*]Baraqel (Baraqiel) taught men astrology.
[*]Bezaliel mentioned in Enoch I, left out of most translations because of damaged manuscripts and problematic transmission of the text.
[*]Chazaqiel (sometimes Ezeqeel or Cambriel) taught men the signs of the clouds(meteorology).
[*]Kokabiel (also Kakabel, Kochbiel, Kokbiel, Kabaiel, and Kochab), In the Book of Raziel he is a high-ranking, holy angel. In Enoch I, he is a fallen Watcher, resident of the nether realms, and commands 365,000 surrogate spirits to do his bidding. Among other duties, he instructs his fellows in astrology.
[*]Penemue “taught mankind the art of writing with ink and paper,” and taught “the children of men the bitter and the sweet and the secrets of wisdom.” (I Enoch 69.8)
[*]Sariel (also Suriel) taught mankind about the courses of the moon (at one time regarded as forbidden knowledge).
[*]Samyaza (also Shemyazaz, Shamazya, Semiaza, Shemhazi, Semyaza and Amezyarak) is one of the leaders of the fall from heaven in Vocabulaire de l’ Angelologie.
[*]Shamsiel, once a guardian of Eden as stated in the Zohar, served as one of the two chief aides to the archangel Uriel (the other aide being Hasdiel) when Uriel bore his standard into battle, and is the head of 365 legions of angels and also crowns prayers, accompanying them to the 5th heaven. InJubilees, he is referred to as one of the Watchers. He is a fallen angel who teaches the signs of the sun.
[*]Yeqon (also Jeqon or Yaqum, יָקוּם, “he shall rise”) was the ringleader who first tempted the other Watchers into having sexual relations with humans. His accomplices were Asbeel, Gadreel, Penemue, and Kasdaye (or Kasadya), who were all identified as individual “satans“.
[/list]
The account of the Book of Enoch has been associated with the passage in Genesis 6:1-4, which speaks of Sons of God instead of Watchers:
When men began to multiply on earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of Godsaw how beautiful the daughters of man were, and so they took for their wives as many of them as they chose. Then the Lord said: “My spirit shall not remain in man forever, since he is but flesh. His days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years.” At that time the Nephilimappeared on earth (as well as later), after the sons of God had intercourse with the daughters of man, who bore them sons. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown.— Genesis 6:1-4
Second Book of EnochEditFor the masculine given name, see Grigori (given name) and GrigoryThe Jewish pseudepigraphon Second Book of Enoch (Slavonic Enoch) refers to the Grigori, who are the same as the Watchers of 1 Enoch.[sup][2][/sup] The Slavic word Grigori used in the book is a transcription[sup][12][/sup] of the Greek word ἐγρήγοροι egrḗgoroi, pronounced /ɛˈɡriɡɒri/ in post-classical times, meaning “wakeful”.[sup][13][/sup]The Hebrew equivalent is ערים, meaning “waking”, “awake”.[sup][14][/sup]Chapter 18 presents the Grigori as countless soldiers of human appearance, “their size being greater than that of great giants”. They are located in the fifth heaven and identified as “the Grigori, who with their prince Satanail rejected the Lord of light”.,[sup][15][/sup][sup][16][/sup] One version of 2 Enoch adds that their number was 200myriads (2 million).[sup][17][/sup][sup][18][/sup][sup][19][/sup] Furthermore, some “went down on to earth from the Lord’s throne” and there married women and “befouled the earth with their deeds“, resulting in confinement underground.[sup][15][/sup][sup][20][/sup] The number of those who descended to earth is generally put at three,[sup][21][/sup][sup][22][/sup] but Andrei A. Orlov, while quoting the text as saying three,[sup][12][/sup] remarks in a footnote that some manuscripts put them at 200 or even 200 myriads.[sup][2][/sup]Chapter 29, referring to the second day of creation, before the creation of human beings, says that “one from out the order of angels”[sup][23][/sup]or, according to other versions of 2 Enoch, “one of the order of archangels“[sup][24][/sup][sup][25][/sup] or “one of the ranks of the archangels”[sup][26][/sup] “conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, that he might become equal in rank to [the Lord’s] power. And [the Lord] threw him out from the height with his angels, and he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless.” Although in this chapter the name “Satanail” is mentioned only in a heading added in one manuscript,[sup][19][/sup][sup][27][/sup] this chapter too is often understood to refer to Satanail and his angels, the Grigori.[sup][19][/sup][sup][26][/sup]The Mercer Dictionary of the Bible makes a distinction between the Grigori and the fallen angels by stating that in fifth heaven, Enoch sees “the giants whose brothers were the fallen angels.”[sup][28][/sup]The longer recension of 2 Enoch 18:3 identifies the prisoners of second heaven as the angels of Satanail.[sup][29] “[/sup]
[hr]
” The earliest reference to a system of sevenarchangels as a group appears to be in Enoch I (the Book of Enoch) which is not part of theJewish Canon but is prevalent in the Judaic tradition, where they are named as Gabriel(Sunday), Michael (Monday), Raphael(Tuesday), Uriel (Wednesday), Raguel(Thursday), Remiel (Friday; he is described in the Book of Enoch as having fallen from grace, possibly replaced by Phanuel (angel), who is the fourth Archangel) and Sariel(Saturday). While this book today is non-canonical in most Christian churches, it was explicitly quoted in the New Testament (Letter of Jude 1:14-15) and by many of the earlyChurch Fathers. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church to this day regards it to be canonical.In the late 5th to early 6th century, Pseudo-Dionysius gives them as Michael, Gabriel,Raphael, Uriel, Camael, Jophiel and Zadkiel.[sup][1][/sup]The earliest Christian mention is by PopeSaint Gregory I who lists them as Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel (or Anael), Simiel,Oriphiel and Raguel. A later reference to seven archangels appeared in an 8th or 9th century talisman attributed to Auriolus, a “servant of God” in north-western Spain. He issues a prayer to “all you patriarchs Michael, Gabriel, Cecitiel, Oriel, Raphael, Ananiel, Marmoniel (“who hold the clouds in your hands”).[sup][2][/sup] Archangels in current church traditionsEditThe Catholic Church recognizes four archangels. Only three are mentioned by name in its canon of Scripture: Gabriel,Michael, and Raphael who appears in thedeuterocanonical Book of Tobit, where he is described as “one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord of Spirits”,[sup][3][/sup] a phrase recalled inRevelation 8:2-6. The fourth named archangel is Phanuel, mentioned in the non-canonical Book of Enoch (1 Enoch 40:9).Some strands of the Eastern Orthodox Church, exemplified in the Orthodox Slavonic Bible (Ostrog Bible, Elizabeth Bible, and later consequently Russian Synodal Bible), recognize as authoritative also 2 Esdras, which mentions Uriel. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine tradition, venerate seven archangels and sometimes an eighth. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Phanuel, Selaphiel (Salathiel), Jegudiel (Jehudiel), Barachiel, and the eighth, Jerahmeel (Jeremiel) (The Synaxis of the Chief of the Heavenly Hosts, Archangel Michael and the Other Heavenly Bodiless Powers: Feast Day: November 8). [sup][4][/sup]As well as Uriel, the Book of Enoch, not regarded as canonical by any of these Christian churches, mentions (chapter 21)Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel, while other apocryphal sources give instead the names Izidkiel, Hanael, and Kepharel.[sup][5][/sup]In the Coptic Orthodox tradition the seven archangels are named as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Suriel, Sedakiel, Sarathiel, andAnaniel.[sup][6][/sup]In Anglican and Episcopal tradition, there are three or four archangels in the calendar for September 29, the feast of St Michael and All Angels (also called Michaelmas), namely Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael,[sup][7][/sup] and often also Uriel.[sup][8][/sup][sup][9][/sup][sup][10][/sup][sup][11][/sup][sup][12][/sup] Other ideasEditAlthough in the Book of Enoch, Ramiel is described as one of the leaders of the 200Grigori, the fallen angels, the leader is identified as Semjaza and the name is spelt differently and therefore this is a different angel. Other names derived frompseudepigrapha and recognized by Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches areSelaphiel, Jegudiel, and Raguel.Seven angels or archangels are given as related to the seven days of the week: Michael (Sunday), Gabriel (Monday), Raphael (Tuesday), Uriel (Wednesday), Selaphiel (Thursday), Raguel or Jegudiel (Friday), and Barachiel (Saturday).[sup][citation needed][/sup]Various occult systems associate each archangel with one of the traditional “seven luminaries” (the seven naked-eye moving objects in the heavens: the Seven Classical Planets): the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun,Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn;[sup][13][/sup] but there is disagreement as to which archangel corresponds to which body.According to Rudolf Steiner, four important archangels also display periodic spiritual activity over the seasons: Spring is Raphael,Summer is Uriel, Autumn is Michael, andWinter is Gabriel.[sup][14][/sup] Following this line of reasoning, Aries (astrologically ruled by Mars) represents Spring, Cancer (ruled by Moon) represents Summer, Libra (ruled by Venus) represents Autumn, and Capricorn (ruled by Saturn) represents Winter. Therefore, by association, Raphael is Mars, Uriel is Moon, Michael is Venus, and Gabriel is Saturn. Rudolf Steiner’s Northern Hemisphere indications regarding the seasons and their placement in the Zodiac will be the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, making Michael the Autumn archangel – with Mars in Aries; Raphael the Spring Archangel – with Venus in Libra; and in mid-winter Gabriel in Cancer; Uriel presides in Capricorn during mid summer in the south.The seven archangels figure in some systems of ritual magic, each archangel bearing a specific seal. ”
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Milton’s Paradise Lost is filled with very imagery in all of its many books, but Milton’s descriptions of hell are especially vivid, and keep in line with our general understanding of hell as being a place of fire and punishment.In Book 1, Milton describes what happened to the fallen angels who dared to challenge God in Heaven. He states that the angels were all
hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky / With hideous ruin and combustion down / To bottomless perdition, there to dwell / In adamantine chains and penal fire … his (Satan’s) horrid crew / Lay vanquished, rolling in the fiery gulf.
This first description of hell is very clearly a place of terror and torment. The rebel Angels were thrown from the beautiful sky of heaven down to an unending hell of damnation. There they are suffering in the fires that they cannot escape from. From there, the descriptions goes on to reinforce the above mentioned description. Hell is described as a
dismal situation waste and wild / A dungeon horrible, on all sides round / As one great furnace flamed, yet from those flames / No light but rather, darkness visible.
This description is especially interesting in the final image. Normally we think of fire and picture the warm lighted glow that is emitted from the flames, but this fire is so intense and other-worldly no light comes forth. It is actually darker than seems possible. It is in incredibility frightening description. From there, the description continues with interesting and powerful word choices and short phrases. There is a mention of the “fiery deluge” which suggests a flood of fire — a flood is usually thought to be overwhelming and unstoppable. When Beelzebub tries to rally the angels to be strong in the midst of this torture he acknowledges the “dreary plain” that is “forlorn and wild.” He calls it a “seat of desolation” and describes the flames as “livid.” That is an interesting word choice because the reader might expect “vivid” meaning bright and lively, but he uses “livid” to draw the connotation of anger and power. Even though this hell is an awful and frightening place, Satan wants his followers to “toss off the fiery waves” and overcome this “dire calamity.” He rallies the other angels to try to rise from the firey pit they are in and to embrace the idea that even though they are damned
The mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a Heaven of Hell, or a Hell of Heaven.
The angels may be eternally in this place, but they can still have great influence in the world. They can embrace the idea that they are “in charge” of hell and no longer have God in charge of them. The rest of Paradise Lost is about how Satan sets about to get his revenge on God. As we know from the Bible, he sees his opportunity in the characters of Adam and Eve in God’s Garden of Eden. As they are brought down by sin, so is all of humanity. ”” 9 Circles of Hell (Dante’s Inferno) Inferno, the first part of Dante’s Divine Comedy that inspired the latest Dan Brown’s bestseller of the same title describes the poet’s vision of Hell. The story begins with the narrator (who is the poet himself) being lost in a dark wood where he is attacked by three beasts which he cannot escape. He is rescued by the Roman poet Virgil who is sent by Beatrice (Dante’s ideal woman). Together, they begin the journey into the underworld or the 9 Circles of Hell. First Circle (Limbo)
Dante’s First Circle of Hell is resided by virtuous non-Christians and unbaptized pagans who are punished with eternity in an inferior form of Heaven. They live in a castle with seven gates which symbolize the seven virtues. Here, Dante sees many prominent people from classical antiquity such as Homer, Socrates, Aristotle, Cicero, Hippocrates and Julius Caesar. Second Circle (Lust) 
In the Second Circle of Hell, Dante and his companion Virgil find people who were overcome by lust. They are punished by being blown violently back and forth by strong winds, preventing them to find peace and rest. Strong winds symbolize the restlessness of a person who is led by desire for fleshly pleasures. Again, Dante sees many notable people from history and mythology including Cleopatra, Tristan, Helen of Troy and others who were adulterous during their lifetime. Third Circle (Gluttony) 
When reaching the Third Circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil find souls of gluttons who are overlooked by a worm-monster Cerberus. Sinners in this circle of Hell are punished by being forced to lie in a vile slush that is produced by never ending icy rain. The vile slush symbolizes personal degradation of one who overindulges in food, drink and other worldly pleasures, while the inability to see others lying nearby represents the gluttons’ selfishness and coldness. Here, Dante speaks to a character called Ciacco who also tells him that the Guelphs (a fraction supporting the Pope) will defeat and expel the Ghibellines (a fraction supporting the Emperor to which Dante adhered) from Florence which happened in 1302, before the poem was written (after 1308). Fourth Circle (Greed) 
In the Fourth Circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil see the souls of people who are punished for greed. They are divided into two groups – those who hoarded possessions and those who lavishly spent it – jousting. They use great weights as a weapon, pushing it with their chests which symbolizes their selfish drive for fortune during lifetime. The two groups that are guarded by a character called Pluto (probably the ancient Greek ruler of the underworld) are so occupied with their activity that the two poets don’t try to speak to them. Here, Dante says to see many clergymen including cardinals and popes. Fifth Circle (Anger) 
The Fifth Circle of Hell is where the wrathful and sullen are punished for their sins. Transported on a boat by Phlegyas, Dante and Virgil see the wrathful fighting each other on the surface of the river Styx and the sullen gurgling beneath the surface of the water. Again, the punishment reflects the type of the sin committed during lifetime. While passing through, the poets are approached by Filippo Argenti, a prominent Florentine politician who confiscated Dante’s property after his expulsion from Florence. Sixth Circle (Heresy) 
When reaching the Sixth Circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil see heretics who are condemned to eternity in flaming tombs. Here, Dante talks with a couple of Florentines – Farinata degli Uberti and Cavalcante de’ Cavalcanti – but he also sees other notable historical figures including the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Pope Anastasius II. The latter, however, is according to some modern scholars condemned by Dante as heretic by a mistake. Instead, as some scholars argue, the poet probably meant the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I. Seventh Circle (Violence) 
The Seventh Circle of Hell is divided into three rings. The Outer Ring houses murderers and others who were violent to other people and property. Here, Dante sees Alexander the Great (disputed), Dionysius I of Syracuse, Guy de Montfort and many other notable historical and mythological figures such as the Centaurus, sank into a river of boiling blood and fire. In the Middle Ring, the poet sees suicides who have been turned into trees and bushes which are fed upon by harpies. But he also sees here profligates, chased and torn to pieces by dogs. In the Inner Ring are blasphemers and sodomites, residing in a desert of burning sand and burning rain falling from the sky. Eight Circle (Fraud) 
The Eight Circle of Hell is resided by the fraudulent. Dante and Virgil reach it on the back of Geryon, a flying monster with different natures, just like the fraudulent. This circle of Hell is divided into 10 Bolgias or stony ditches with bridges between them. In Bolgia 1, Dante sees panderers and seducer. In Bolgia 2 he finds flatterers. After crossing the bridge to Bolgia 3, he and Virgil see those who are guilty of simony. After crossing another bridge between the ditches to Bolgia 4, they find sorcerers and false prophets. In Bolgia 5 are housed corrupt politicians, in Bolgia 6 are hypocrites and in the remaining 4 ditches, Dante finds hypocrites (Bolgia 7), thieves (Bolgia 7), evil counselors and advisers (Bolgia 8), divisive individuals (Bolgia 9) and various falsifiers such as alchemists, perjurers and counterfeits (Bolgia 10). Ninth Circle (Treachery) 
The last Ninth Circle of Hell is divided into 4 Rounds according to the seriousness of the sin though all residents are frozen in an icy lake. Those who committed more severe sin are deeper within the ice. Each of the 4 Rounds is named after an individual who personifies the sin. Thus Round 1 is named Caina after Cain who killed his brother Abel, Round 2 is named Antenora after Anthenor of Troy who was Priam’s counselor during the Trojan War, Round 3 is named Ptolomaea after Ptolemy (son of Abubus), while Round 4 is named Judecca after Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus with a kiss. ”” All information is taken from either of the two sources.
Dante, Alighieri, and Allen Mandelbaum. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Inferno: a Verse Translation. New York: Bantam, 1988. Print.
Dante, Alighieri, Gustave Doré, and Henry Francis Cary. Inferno. Chicago: Balford, Clark &, 1885. Print.
1st Circle – Limbo
Sin – Unbaptized and pagans who were fixed on reason
Punishment – No physical torment, but eternal sorrow instead.
2nd Circle – The Lustful
Sin – Guilty of lust toward others
Punishment – Blow around in a violent storm without hope or rest
3rd Circle – The Gluttonous
Sin – Eating more than they should. Not treating their bodies as temples.
Punishment – Forced to eat vile filth
4th Circle – The Avaricious and Prodigal
Sin – Avarice (Greed/Making money your idol) and Prodigal (spending money freely without care)
Punishment – The souls are to bang big rocks together while under the watch of the Greek god, Plutus
5th Circle – The Wrathful and Sullen
Sin – Wrathful (Anger towards others) and the Sullen (Bad temper/Always in a gloomy mood)
Punishment – The Wrathful fight each other on the river Styx. The Sullen gurgle beneath the waters of Styx.
6th Circle – Heretics
Sin – Teaching false doctrine about the Bible as truth
Punishment – They are all trapped in flaming tombs
7th Circle – The Violent
Outer Ring – Against their Neighbor: Tyrants and Murderers
Sin – Murder and, for tyrants, using power unjustly
Punishment – Put into a river of boiling blood and fire
2nd Pouch – Against Themselves (Suicides) and Against their Possessions (Squanderers)
Sin – Suicide and, for squanderers, destruction of possessions which would hinder life
Punishment – For people who committed suicide are made into thorny bushes or trees which they are fed on by harpies.
3rd Pouch – Against God (Blasphemers, Sodomites, and Usurers)
Sin – People who are violent against God, violent against nature, and stealing money
Punishment – fiery sand and flakes of fire rain down on all three types of sins in this ring.
8th Circle – Fraud
1st Pouch – Panders and Seducers
Sin – Prostitution and, for seducers, people that entice others for sexual purposes
Punishment – Both groups walk in lines facing opposite directions being whipped by demons
2nd Pouch – Flatterers
Sin – People who use words for their own advantage
Punishment – Immersed in human excrement
3rd Pouch – Simonists
Sin – The selling of sacred things
Punishment – Put head-first in a rock and the sole of their feet are licked by fire
4th Pouch – Diviners, Astrologers, and Magicians
Sin – Giving false prophecy using various means
Punishment – Their heads are twisted backwards
5th Pouch – Barrators
Sin – Illegal ways to bring yourself up in politics
Punishment – Put into a boiling lake
6th Pouch – Hypocrites
Sin – Pretending to have something when, in reality, they didn’t
Punishment – They must wear lead cloaks
7th Pouch – Thieves
Sin – Stealing what doesn’t belong to them
Punishment – Pursued by snakes and lizards and constantly bit by them.
8th Pouch – Fraudulent Counselors
Sin – Lying to someone to gain from that person
Punishment – Encased in flames
9th Pouch – Sowers of Scandal and Schism
Sin – Lying to others and, in result, destroying their lives
Punishment – A demon hacks apart their poor souls just as they did on earth
10th Pouch – Falsifiers of Metals, Persons, Coins, and Words
Sin – Creating something that isn’t true throughout these different sins
Punishment – Afflicted with different types of diseases since, they themselves, are a “disease” to society
9th Circle – Treachery
1st Ring – Traitors to Kin
Sin – Traitor to your own family
Punishment – Immersed in ice up to their faces
2nd Ring – Traitors to political entities
Sin – Traitor to your own country
Punishment – Lying face up covered in ice
3nd Ring – Traitors to Guests
Sin – Killing of a guest in your house
Punishment – Covered in ice except for the face.
4th Ring – Traitors to Benefactors
Sin – Traitors to their lords and benefactors
Punishment – Completely encased in ice with no one to talk to ”
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” Paradiso (pronounced [paraˈdiːzo]; Italian for “Paradise” or “Heaven“) is the third and final part of Dante‘s Divine Comedy, following theInferno and the Purgatorio. It is an allegorytelling of Dante’s journey through Heaven, guided by Beatrice, who symbolises theology. In the poem, Paradise is depicted as a series of concentric spheres surrounding the Earth, consisting of the Moon, Mercury, Venus, theSun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, thePrimum Mobile and finally, the Empyrean. It was written in the early 14th century. Allegorically, the poem represents the soul’s ascent to God. Introduction The Spheres of HeavenEdit
On visiting the Moon, Beatrice explains to Dante the reasons for its markings, Canto 2.Dante’s nine spheres of Heaven are the Moon,Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, and the Primum Mobile. These are associated by Dante with the nine levels of the angelic hierarchy. Dante also relies on traditional associations, such as the one between Venus and romantic love. The first three spheres (which fall within the shadow of the Earth) are associated with deficient forms of Fortitude, Justice, andTemperance. The next four are associated with positive examples of Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, and Temperance; while Faith, Hope, and Love appear together in the eighth sphere.First Sphere (The Moon: The Inconstant)EditWhen visiting the Moon, Beatrice explains to Dante the reasons for the markings on its surface, describing a simple scientific experiment in optics. She also praises the experimental method in general (Canto II):
Yet an experiment, were you to try it,
could free you from your cavil, and the source
of your arts’ course springs from experiment.[sup][4][/sup]
Dante and Beatrice speak toPiccarda and Constance(fresco by Philipp Veit), Canto 3.The waxing and waning of the moon is associated with inconstancy.[sup][5][/sup] Consequently, the sphere of the Moon is that of souls who abandoned their vows, and so were deficient in the virtue of fortitude (Canto II). Here Dante and Beatrice meet Piccarda, sister of Dante’s friend Forese Donati, who died shortly after being forcibly removed from her convent. They also meet Constance of Sicily, who (Dante believes) was forcibly removed from a convent to marry Henry VI (Canto III).[sup][6][/sup]Beatrice discourses on the freedom of the will, the sacredness of vows, and the importance of not collaborating with force (Canto IV):
for will, if it resists, is never spent,
but acts as nature acts when fire ascends,
though force a thousand times tries to compel.So that, when will has yielded much or little,
it has abetted force as these souls did:
they could have fled back to their holy shelter.[sup][7][/sup]
Beatrice explains that a vow is a pact “drawn between a man / and God,”[sup][8][/sup] in which a person freely offers up his free will as a gift to God. Vows should therefore not be taken lightly, and should be kept once given – unless keeping the vow would be a greater evil, as with Jephthah‘s and Agamemnon‘s sacrifice of their daughters (Canto V).[sup][9][/sup]
Dante meets the Emperor[url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justinian_I]Justinian
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