Punishing Sinners
The image shows part of 200 ft long Heavens and Hells bas-relief carved on the eastern section of the south gallery located on the perimeter of the lower level of the Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Check the temple layout for its location. Read the Angkor Wat Bas-Reliefs page for a detailed description of this and the other interesting bas-reliefs.
As the name suggests, this 200 ft bas-relief is about the depiction of heavens and hells as described in ancient Hindu texts called the Puranas. It has the following three horizontal layers:
1. Upper layer: Depicts swargas (heavens)
2. Middle layer: Depicts the bhoomi (earth)
3. Bottom layer: Depicts narakas (hells)
The entire Heavens and Hells bas-relief depicts 37 swargas and 32 narakas.
The image shows the lower layer of the bas-relief depicting a naraka where Yama‘s guards are seen punishing the sinners. The narakas are much more descriptive than the swargas. As you can see in the image, the punishment of sinners is gory and elaborate.
Although naraka translates to hell, it is not the hell as understood in the West. A naraka is more akin to purgatory because it is not eternal and the sinners can redeem themselves once they pay for their sins. In Hindu mythology, sinners are reborn, but not always as human beings.
Heavens and Hells Related Images
– Yama’s Court
– Chitragupta Checking the Records of Souls
– Pushing Sinners to a Naraka
– Three Layers of the Heavens and Hells Bas-Relief
– Depiction of a Naraka – Crucifying Sinners
– Depiction of a Naraka – Beating by Yama’s Guards
– Depiction of a Naraka – Stomping by Yama’s Guards
Related Pages
– Angkor Wat, Angkor Wat Bas-Reliefs, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei
– Phnom Kulen, Tonlé Sap, Cambodia
– Bali, Prambanan, Borobudur, Indonesia
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