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Third Pratipatti: The Nature of Sheetavana
The Nāraka (hellish) being, after emerging from the Ushṇavednīya (hot) Naraka, sees in this human world various types of furnaces such as those for boiling jaggery, distilling alcohol, baking pottery, smelting iron, copper, lead, silver, and gold. These furnaces are extremely hot, glowing red like blooming Palāśa flowers, emitting thousands of sparks, flames, and embers, and burning intensely from within. When the Nāraka being sees these fiery places and enters them, he is able to pacify his own heat (Ushṇatā) by the heat of the Naraka, quenching his thirst, hunger, and burning sensation. As a result, he is able to sleep, close his eyes, and regain his memory, pleasure, fortitude, and equanimity. Gradually, he emerges from there, experiencing extreme comfort and happiness.
When Gautama asked whether Nārakas indeed experience such Ushṇavednā (heat sensation), the Bhagavān replied that the Nārakas experience an even more undesirable form of Ushṇavednā.
The Nature of Sheetavednā:
Gautama asked, "O Bhante! How do the Nāraka beings dwell, experiencing the Sheetavednā (cold sensation) in the Sheetavednīya Narakas?"
The Bhagavān replied, "Gautama, it would be as if a strong, young blacksmith were to hold a large, red-hot iron mass with tongs and immerse it for one, two, or three months at most in the extremely cold Sheetavednīya Narakas. Even then, the Nāraka being would repeatedly be taken out and thrust back into the extreme cold, without being allowed to die. In the same way, the Nāraka being, emerging from the unbearable cold of the Sheetavednīya Narakas, sees in this human world things like snow, snow mounds, snow flakes, snow piles, frost, frost mounds, ice ponds, and ice caves, and enters into them. There, he experiences the cold, thirst, hunger, and burning sensation.