Garuda Puran

Vedas and Puranas are our ancient books which are full of knowledge. But there is one book that people are afraid to talk should enever be kept at home and should never be read. Because this book is only read when someone dies. Death is a fact that very few people understand. According to Puranas those who do good deeds go to heaven and those who lead sinful lives go to hell. But is it really? Have you ever wondered what happens after death? We know about all this from the book called Garuda Purana. Garuda Purana is one of the 18 great Puranas.

Garuda Purana has two main parts. The first part deals with meditation, yoga and other profound knowledge about devotion to Lord Vishnu in Purvakhanda. But the second part of the Garuda Purana, the northern part, talks about the Asura Yuga, death. In the Garuda Purana, Lord Vishnu says that Chitragupta in Yamaloka has a list of everyone's deeds. How many virtues he has done, how many sins he has committed, these are written in detail. In Chitragupta's meeting, the activities of each species are discussed. Those who are righteous, whose hearts are pure, can pass through the eastern door. This road has gardens, beautiful swans and is full of nectar. The path to the west is bejeweled. Saints have to go through this path. Those who have donated in life or who have died near the temple can go to the north. Souls who cross these three doors fear nothing.They are provided with all kinds of comforts.

In Jamaloka, they meet Dharmaraja who takes them forward. And those who have committed sins, those who have caused pain to others, are sent from the southern door to Jamaloka. And beyond this door awaits the consequences of their evil deeds.For there they meet Yamaraja, the terrible incarnation of Dharmaraja, who punishes them for their sins. Garuda Purana mentions 28 terrible and painful punishments for various sins and evil deeds. There is a punishment for every bad deed. These include five gruesome punishments that will thrill you. The first punishment is Tamisram, which is a terrible slap.Those who steal the property of others, the servants of Yama tie them with ropes and send them to Tamisram, hell. In that hell they were beaten with sticks. Their body peels off to such an extent that blood starts oozing out and the person faints. When he comes to his senses, this whole process is repeated until all his sins are punished. Second Punishment of Hell Cooking in Oil- Kumbhipakam Those who harm others for their benefit or pleasure are sent to Kumbhipakam hell where they are burnt in a large pot of boiling oil. 

The puishment is 'Rourbam' snakebite. Those who cheat others are sent to Rauravam Hell.They are thrown into the burning world where they wander for their lives. Their legs are torn off and then hundreds of animals like snakes, mosquitoes, scorpions, crows eat their bodies. Their bodies are rejoined and the entire punishment is repeated. The fourth terrible punishment is Pranarodhama, which is the dismemberment of the body. This hell is for those who hunt and eat animals. Here Yama's servants cut the body into pieces. After some time, all these pieces are added together and they are cut again. This process continues for thousands of years. The fifth terrible punishment is the effigy, which must be burnt. Those who have illicit relations and unnatural sexual acts burn in this hell. They are bound and thrown into the burning ground where their bodies are consumed by fire. They recover and burn again. After a person's death, when his soul leaves his body, his senses cease to function. He begins to see the world and the world around him. When the soul leaves the body, a person feels as if he has been stung by 40,000 scorpions. At the time of death two Yamas come from Yamaloka. Black eyes, angry eyes, crooked faces, their appearance is so frightening that the dead soul clutches its body tightly in fear. His soul wants to return to his body, but it is not possible. Yama binds the soul tightly with a rope and after many attempts the soul cries. It falls and his spirit leaves the body. Yama immediately took his soul bound. And from here begins the journey to Jamaloka, where sins and virtues are weighed. Deeds are counted and punished. After death Yama takes the person's soul to Yamaloka. Yatra to Jamaloka is very easy for a person who has done good deeds in his life. He was taken in a chariot. But for those who have not done good things in life, this journey is full of pain and suffering. Because Yama takes one's soul with ropes. He does not get a chance to rest anywhere. There are 16 stations on this entire route. On the way sometimes snow wind, sometimes rain of fire. He has to face the animals in the dense forest, or fall into the mud full of leeches. The soul cries, but Yama shows no mercy. After this, the soul is flogged and reminded of all the sins committed in its life. But the purpose of both is to balance the actions of the soul. Because after this, the soul is separated from all its physical attachments and the process of rebirth begins. In the Garuda Purana, Lord Vishnu says, just as a person changes his clothes, so does the soul change his body. But meeting a human body is both fortunate and painful. In Chapter 4 of Garuda Purana Lord Vishnu tells Garuda Dev that a soul has to take birth in 84 lakh different yonis. After that, we are reborn as human beings. A soul gets the next life based on its actions, its sins and its merits. Sometimes it becomes insects, sometimes it becomes birds or animals or trees. Similarly, after taking birth in 84 lakh different units, when one's sins and virtues are equal, human life is gained. The Garuda Purana describes death in detail.