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## Third Question: How large are the hells?
[229] The touch of a group of needles, the touch of a prickly vine, the sting of a scorpion, the touch of embers, flames, the fire of a furnace, a burning coal, a burning piece of wood, the fire of a red-hot iron ball - is the touch of the hells like any of these? The Lord said, "No, their touch is even more unpleasant than these." In the same way, one should understand the touch of the hells up to the seventh earth.
How large are the hells? 84. "O Venerable One! How large are the hells on the Ratnapraba earth?" "Gautama! This Jambudvipa, which is the innermost of all the islands, the smallest of all the island-oceans, is round like a fried cake, round like a chariot wheel, round like a lotus seed, round like a full moon, and is one hundred thousand yojanas in length and breadth. Its circumference is slightly more than three lakh sixteen thousand two hundred twenty-seven yojanas, three kos, one hundred twenty-eight dhanus, and thirteen and a half angulas. A god, who is very powerful and has great influence, could traverse this entire Jambudvipa in three snaps of his fingers, saying 'now, now'. He would travel with a divine speed, which is excellent, swift, agile, fierce, quick, bold, powerful, skillful, and divine. Even if he were to travel for one day, two days, three days, or even for six months at his fastest speed, he would not be able to cross even one of those hells. O Gautama! This is how large the hells on the Ratnapraba earth are. Similarly, it should be understood that the hells on the seventh earth are also very large. In particular, he can cross one of those hells, but he cannot cross the remaining four."
[84] This sutra explains the size of the hells through similes. The question about the size of the hells has already been asked and answered. It was said that some hells are countless thousands of yojanas in size. The phrase "countless thousands of yojanas" clearly indicates...