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of hell, unless some sort of restoration of lost balance is attempted in this life through prāyaścittas_inner and outer. The doctrine of Prāyaścitta is believed by all the Indian religions, though the prescriptions for remedy are different in different cases. In this connection we have studied on a comparative basis the descriptive accounts given of different hells in different religious systems of India. Even the Upanişads are not lacking in materials for an account of the hells. Manu and other Rșis writing on Dharmaśāstras have spoken of the hells. We find a brilliant description of hells in Vyāsa's commentary on Patañjala Yoga Sutra (Vibhūtivāda, 3rd section ). We have similar accounts in the works of Asanga, Vasubandhu and other Buddhist authorities and in Jaina Literature including Umāsvāti's standard work, that is similarly replete with details regarding hells etc. Hells are in a sense nature's purgatories i tended to purge the soul of their inequities. It is a scheme of nature and has its own laws.
We may consider from a similar viewpoint the position of heavens also. We have stated in our thesis with such details, as we could command, the case of heavenly life in its different forms recognized in different systems. We have the classical account of different heavens in Vyāsa's commentary referred to above. We have similar account as shown in our texts of the Buddhist and Jaina religious authorities. Apart from the heavens and hell we have tried to make a clear statement of the different planes of life recognized by the different religious systems of India. It is stated- si plena festi', which shows that hells, heavens and other planes of existence are all fundamentally associated with karma for some of these places represent karmabhūmis in which fresh Karmas are generated and some are Bhogabhūmis in which the fruits of ancient Karmas are experienced but no fresh Karma is evolved. Similarly there are certain places where fresh karmas are generated and the results of earlier karmas are also experienced. A study of the doctrine of karma would have been incomplete if this had been omitted.
