demonic


Glossary for Hell

Currently includes entries for Asian/Buddhist, Canaanite, Egyptian, Greek/Roman, Hindu, Mesopotamian (Akkadian/Assyrian/Sumerian) and Zoroastrian terms.

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A-chs’-chu’:

Also, Atata, O-tcha-tcha, Ababa; the third cold hell, or the chattering hell, because the teeth constantly chatter here with the cold. (Budh.)
Acheron: One of the five rivers of Hades, known as the river of woe. According to some legends, the Styx and the Phlegethon both flowed into it; according to Virgil, it was the principal river of Tartarus and the Styx and the Cocytus both issued from it. (Grk./Rom.)
Acherusian Lake: The lake into which the Acheron flowed out of Hades, identified with Lake Avernus. (Grk./Rom.)
Adab: Modern Tell Bismaya; ancient Sumerian city located south of Nippur, important up to about 2000 BC. (Mes.)
Aditi:
 “Limitless”; goddess of the boundless sky; once the goddess of the past and the future, the seven dimensions of the cosmos; mother of the Adityas. She was named as the consort of Kasyapa or Brahma; sometimes depicted as a cow; later a guardian goddess who helps find a smooth path. (Hin.)
Adityas: Group of Hindu demigods. (Hin.)
Afuda: A cold hell. (Budh.)

Agni:

 God of fire, the messenger of the gods, the acceptor of sacrifice; closely associated with Indra, sometimes said to be his twin brother; had the power to impart immortality as well as to remove all sins at the time of one's death; later became an incarnation of either Shiva or Brahma. (Hin.)

Ahi:

 A serpent, or deadly snake, the Vedic demon of drought; one of the names of Vritra. (Hin.)
Ahura Mazda: Or Ohrmazd, supreme god of Zoroastrian religion, means “wise lord.” (Zor.)
Aîrân-vêg: The primeval home of Mazda worship, in the direction of Âdarbîgân. (Zor.)
Albûrz: The mountain that is supposed to surround the world. (Zor.)
Aloïdae: The handsome giants, Otus and Ephialtes, who stormed Olympus to gain Artemis and Hera. They were killed by Apollo and bound to columns in the underworld by snakes, with the nymph of the Styx in the form of an owl over them. (Grk.)

Alluhappu:

A demon; or a kind of net. (Mes.)

Ambarisa:

 A hell associated by its name with a frying pan. This is also a proper name in Sanskrit and the name of a famous king and devotee of Krishna. (Hin.)
Amerodad: Immortality, the Amesha Spenta presiding over the Earth; also the name of the seventh day of the month according and the name of the fifth month. (Zor.)
Amesha Spenta: Lit. “Beneficent Immortals,” the highest spiritual beings created by Ahura Mazda. Sometimes referred to as “archangels.” (Zor.)
Amitabha: A Dhyani Buddha, invented by the Mahayana School about c.e. 300. He is held to-day to be the ruler of the Western Paradise, to which he leads all those who invoke his name. (Budh.)

Ananta:

 A name for one of the many Hindu hells, as well as the cosmic snake on which Vishna reclines. (Hin.)

Andhatamisra:

 Also, Andhatamisraka; a hell associated by its name with complete darkness. (Hin.)

Angiras:

 A Vedic sage who, along with Atharvan, is credited with most of the fourth veda, Atharvaveda. (Hin.)
Angra Mainyu: Avestan form, alternately Ahriman (Middle Persian) or Akharman, the hostile spirit or devil of the Zoroastrian religion. (Zor.)
Ann: Also Anu, An; the sky god, supreme ruler of all the gods. (Mes.)
Avestan form, alternately Ahriman (Middle Persian) or Akharman, the hostile spirit or devil of the Zoroastrian religion. (Zor.)
Antinaipolis: A town in Middle Egypt. (Egy.)

Anunnaki:

Also Annunake; seven demons of the netherworld, presumably one for each gate, some big and some small; Ann’s children; seven judges of the netherworld. (Mes.)
Aparagodaniya: One of the four great continents that comprise a Cakravada. (Budh.)
Apopis: Also Apep, Apepi, or Rerek; demon of chaos in the form of a serpent; foe of the sun god, Re, represented all that was outside the ordered cosmos; threatened the underworld and symbolized evil. (Egy.)

Apratistha:

 A hell associated by its name with being foundationless or without bottom, also perishable or unstable; also the sixth hell. (Hin.)
Apsu: The fresh waters on which the Earth floats; the god Ea rules over apsu. (Mes.)
Arbuda: The first cold hell. (Budh.)

ardra:

 A deliberate sin. (Hin.)
Ardâ Vîrâf: The Nishapurian, author and visionary. (Zor.)

Argala:

 A hell associated by its name with a bolt or an obstacle; also in some texts the fourth hell. (Hin.)
Arhan: Also Arhat and Arahant: an individual who has traversed the eightfold path to its goal, Nirvana. (Budh.)
Arezûr: The extreme northern ridge of the mythic Albûrz, being the place where demons chiefly congregate; another designation is “in the direction of Arûm.” (Zor.)
Ashur: The principal Assyrian god; also the first Assyrian capital city, named for their main god; modern Assur or Qal'at Sherqat, located 390 km (242 mi) north of Baghdad. (Mes.)

Asipatragrove:

 Perhaps related to Asipatravana. (Hin.)

Asipatravana:

Also Asipatra Wood or forest. The eighth (Hindu) hell; forest of sword blades; the sword-leaved forest. (Budh., Hin.)

Ast-vahâd: A demon of death. (Zor.)
Asuras: Generally refers to demons, but also powerful beings, or demi-gods, opposed to the devas. (Budh.)
Asyut: Ancient town in Middle Egypt. (Egy.)
Ataro: The angel who presides over fire. (Zor.)
Atata: The third cold hell. (Budh.)

Atighora:

 A hell associated by its name with being very terrible. (Hin.)
Atum: One of the main creator and sun gods with Re; considered the primeval self-made god of the Heliopolitan cosmogony. (Egy.)
Avalambana: All Souls Day; also the name of a sutra associated with Buddha’s disciple Maudgalyayana. (Budh.)
Avalokiteshvara: Also Avalokiteswara: the infinitely compassionate Bodhisattva of northern Buddhism. (Budh.)
Avata: Also, Arbuda, O-feou-to, Abbuda, O-fan-to: The first cold hell. (Budh.)
Avernus: A volcanic crater, which comprises Lake Avernus, near Cumae, west of Naples. According to Roman mythology, it is an entrance to the underworld. (Rom.)
Avitchi: Also Avici, and Avichi; the eighth hot hell; the general meaning of which is “waveless,” having no waves or movement, suggesting the stagnation of life and being in immobility; it also means “without happiness” or “without repose.” (Budh.)
Ayahsalmalivana: The forest of thorns in hell. (Budh.)
Baal: The storm god, and thus a fertility god; the central deity in most of the surviving Canaanite myth; son of Dagon, god of grain; comparable to Zeus. (Can.)
Babai: Minor deity, usually malevolent but also connected with the crowns of Egypt. (Egy.)
Bad-Tibira: Modern Tell al-Medain or Medina; temple city of Lulal, younger son of Inanna; a city on the Sumerian Plain roughly between Ur and Lagash. (Mes.)
Bahram:
Also Warharan and Vahram; lit. “victory,” name of an angel; also name of the twentieth day of the month; the Bahram fire. (Zor.)
Belili: The sister of Dumuzi; but there may be confusion between Dumuzi’s sister Geshtinana and an old woman Belili (or Bilulu). (Mes.)
Bharata: The name of the dynasty that is the subject of the Mahabharata. (Hin.)

Bhayanaka:

 A hell associated by its name with being terrible or dreadful. (Hin.)

Bhayotkata:

 A hell, but any special nature indicated by its name is unclear. (Hin.)

Bhikkuni

 Also Bhikkhuni or Bhiksuni: a mendicant nun. (Budh.)
Bhikku: Also Bhikkhu or Bhikshu: a mendicant monk. (Budh.)

Bhima:

 A hell associated by its name with being fearful, terrible, and formidable. (Hin.)

Bhimasena:

 Younger brother of Maharaja Yudhisthira. (Hin.)

Bhisana:

 A hell associated by its name with being terrible, terrifying and formidable. (Hin.)

Bhrigu:

 A rishi, one of those born by the wish of Lord Brahma; also called Prajapati (creator) because Lord Brahma created him to help with the creation of the universe. (Hin.)
Biblu: The slaughterer of the netherworld; apparently the only surviving reference to Bilbu is found in the Vision of Kummâ. (Mes.)
Bodhisattva: Also Bodhisattwa: one who has reached the highest degree of saintship, so that in his next incarnation he will be a Buddha, or savior of the world. (Budh.)

brahman:

 Also Brâhman; a devout man, one who prays, a worshipper; a priest; a chief priest who knows the Vedas; the supreme universal soul, the chief god of the Indian pantheon. A devotion, pious utterance or prayer; a Vedic verse or text. (Hin.)
Briareos One of the three Greek Hekatonkheires, or Hundred–handed Ones, giants of incredible strength and ferocity and children of Gaia and Uranus. They defeated the Titans and became guards of Tartarus. Brother of Cottus and Gyes. Also known as Aegaeon and Obriareus. (Grk.)

Brihatsaman:

The great chant; or one named for it. (Hin.)
Bubastis: Cult city of Bastet, cat-goddess of festivity and fertility; inn eastern delta. (Egy.)
Busiris: City in the central Nile delta, sacred to Osiris. (Egy.)

Cakraka:

 A hell associated by its name with being wheel-like or circular. (Hin.)
Cakravada: The name of a whole world-system, in the center of which is Mount Sineru, itself surrounded by seven mountain ranges; each Cakravada, of which the number is countless, consists of four great continents. (Budh.)

Canda:

 A hell associated by its name with burning or being violent; impetuous; passionate, enraged, wrathful; fierce, cruel. (Hin.)

candala:

 A class of people considered outcastes and untouchables. (Hin.)
Cerberus: Also Cerberia, the multi-headed hound of Hades who guards the dates of the underworld. (Grk./Rom.)
Chakat-i-Daitih: A desert below the Chinvat Bridge. (Zor.)
Charon: The ferryman of Hades who conducts the dead across the rivers Styx and Acheron. (Grk./Rom.)
Chien: The ghost of a ghost; believed to be liable to death. (Chin.)
Chinvât Bridge:
Also, Chinwad and Cinvat; the bridge over which the souls passed after judgment. It extended between the divine Mount Albûrz (Mount Damavand) and the Daitya peak near the Daitya River, identified with the Aras River. In Avestan it is the “Chinvato Peretu,” which is thought to mean the “Crossing of the Separator.” (Zor.)

Chitragupta:

 Chronicler of the deeds of the living and their judge at death; equated with and also the right-hand man of Yama. (Hin.)
Chuan Lan: Literally, he who turns the wheel. (Chin.)
Cocytus: One of the rivers of Hades, known also as the river of wailing. It flows into the Acheron. (Grk./Rom.)
Cronos: A Titan, the youngest of the first generation, who overthrew his father and ruled during the mythological Golden Age. He was eventually overthrown himself by his son Zeus and imprisoned in Tartarus with the other Titans, although his fate differs in different texts.Also known as Kronos. (Grk.)
Cubit:
An ancient unit of linear measure, originally equal to the length of the forearm from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow, or about 17 to 22 inches (43 to 56 centimeters).

Dadhici:

 The great hero who gave up his bones to Indra, who formed a thunderbolt from them to kill the demon Vrtrasura. (Hin.)
Danaides: The fifty daughters of Danaus, who were married to the fifty sons of his brother Aegyptus. They promised their father to cut off the heads of their husbands on their wedding night, and only one or two failed to carry out the deed. Although in some versions of their legend they are purified, in others they are condemned to Hades where they everlastingly pour water into a vessel full of holes. (Grk.)

Danu:

 Goddess of primordial waters. (Hin.)

Dasa:

 A foe, demon, infidel, slave or servant; also a fisherman, boatman, ferry man or sailor. (Hin.)
Death: Also called Mot; the god of death, pestilence, and plague; ruler of the underworld; son of El.
Devalokas: The six heavens of Kamadhatu. (Budh.)

Dhanesvara:

 The custodian of wealth and a friend (or one of the names) of Shiva (Hin.)

Dharma:

 The natural law and established order, and the proper behavior that is in accord with it. Also the name of the god or deva in charge of Dharma. (Hin.)

Dikpala:

 A god who guards one of the eight directions. (Hin.)

Diptamaya:

 A hell, but any special nature indicated by its name is unclear. (Hin.)
Double Lion: See Ruty. (Egy.)
Dron: Also yasht-i drôn; a ritual blessing and thanksgiving for food, named for the round unleavened breads which are considered sacred and play a part in this ritual. (Zor.)
Drûgâskan: The deepest region, the pit, of hell, a place so dark that all who are sent there are as if blind; it is often unnamed in the texts, but Manuschihr in Religious Judgments (Dadestan-i Denig) names it thus. (Zor.)
Dumuzi: Shepherd god who represents the harvest season, also a god of the underworld; husband of Inanna/Ishtar; son of Enki and Ninsun. (Mes.)

Durdhara:

 A hell associated by its name with being hard to bear, irresistible, inevitable. (Hin.)
Dush-hukht: Place of evil words. (Zor.)
Dush-humat: Place of evil thoughts. (Zor.)
Dush-huvarsht: Place of evil deeds. (Zor.)
Ea: Also Enki, the god of fresh waters (apsu); also the god of wisdom, craftiness, farming, building, magic, arts and crafts, and creation. (Mes.)
Egalgina: Palace of justice, Ereshkigal’s court. (Mes.)
Ekur: Name means mountain house; the ziggurat temple of Enlil at Nippur. (Mes.)
El: The god at he head of the Semitic pantheon; comparable to Kronos. (Can.)
Emma-O: The Japanese Buddhist god of the underworld (from the Sanskrit Yama). (Budh.)
Enki: See Ea.
Enkidu: Warrior friend of Gilgamesh. (Mes.)
Enlil: A chief god of the Mesopotamian pantheon; the god of air, wind, storms, or the sky between earth and heaven, god of the atmosphere; with Ereshkigal he fathered Namtar; also the father of Nanna.
Er: A soldier whose otherworld journey is included in the Republic of Plato. Since Er refused to drink the waters of Lethe — Hades’ river of forgetfulness — his body did not decompose, and after two days he revived to report on the matters of the afterlife, including punishment, reward, and reincarnation. (Grk.)
Erebus: A primordial god, the personification of darkness, born to Chaos. In Greek literature it is also used as the name for the underworld and is occasionally used interchangeably with Tartarus. With Nyx, he fathered personified deities such as Hemera, Hypnos, and Thanatos. (Grk.)
Ereshkigal: Also known as Irkalla; goddess and mistress of netherworld; sister of Inanna/Ishtar and her counterpart, personifying the dormant seasons of the year. Her consort is Nergal, her former enemy who co-rules Irkalla with her. (Mes.)
Eridu: Modern Abu Shahrain or Abu Shahrein; the earliest known Sumerian city; located 196 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. (Mes.)
Erkalla: The great city of the underworld; the city of the dead under the Apsu. (Mes.)
Etana: King of Kish, flourished c. 2800 b.c.; known as an empire builder and as a pious and god-fearing man of long rule. (Mes.)
Eurydice: A Greek nymph or daughter of Apollo and wife of Orpheus. Although there are various versions of her story, in the most often cited, after her death Orpheus traveled to the underworld to release her, but fails when, against the conditions placed on him, her turns back to look at her. (Grk.)
Faiyum: Inland lake and marsh area west of the Nile in Middle Egypt, center of the worship of the crocodile-god, Sobk. (Egy.)
Five Crimes: Parricide, matricide, killing a saint, disturbing the peace of the monks, and opposing a Buddha. (Budh.)
Four Cardinal Sins: Killing, stealing, adultery, and evil language. (Budh.)
Four Islands: Japan, with its four major islands.
Four Obligations: To heaven, earth, sovereign, and relatives.
Frashegird: The final judgment and the time of reintegration that was to occur after 9000 years. (Zor.)
Frehzist: Also Frazishto; a demon. (Zor.)
Fundarikiya: Scorching hot region of hell. (Budh.)
Fung-tu-hsien: Also Fengdu, Feng-tu and Fengdu Xian, a city in Sichuan, near the mountain believed to be the entrance to the otherworld. A necropolis built here, reportedly over 1800 years ago, is modeled on the Chinese hell. (Chin.)
Furies: The infernal female demons of vengeance, Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megaera. (Grk.)
Galmat: Mother of Gapn and Ugar; her name probably means “darkness.” (Can.)
Gandharas: People from NW India (now Pakistan), thought to be sinful creatures. (Budh.)
Ganzir: Palace at Gate of the underworld. (Mes.)
Gapn: Messenger of Baal, sibling of Ugar; name means “vineyard.” (Can.)
Gatha: The five sacred hymns of Zarathushtra (Yasna chapters 28-34, 43-51, 53), part of the Avesta; the five supplementary days at the end of the Zoroastrian religious calendar and the frehzists presiding over them. (Zor.)
Geryon: A monster with three human heads — either on one or three bodies — who dwelt in the western Mediterranean. (Grk./Rom.)

Ghatiyantra:

 A hell associated by its name with a water wheel and also with an intestinal disease, characterized by diarrhea and ulceration of the mucous membrane of the digestive tract; the seventh hell. (Hin.)

Ghora:

 A hell associated by its name with being awful, terrible, dreadful, violent. (Hin.)

Ghorarupa:

 A hell associated by its name with having an awful, terrible, dreadful or violent appearance. (Hin.)
Gilgamesh: The fifth king of Uruk in Babylonia (c. 2700 b.c.), whose legend survives in the oldest extant literary work, the Epic of Gilgamesh. (Mes.)

Gudapaka:

 A hell associated by its name with infections of the anal passage. (Hin.)
Hades: Also, Aidoneus, ancient Greek god of the underworld, ruler over the dead. Later known as Pluto. Also refers to the underworld itself. (Grk./Rom.)
Harpies: Vicious, vile, and cruel monsters with the bodies of birds and the faces of women. They snatched food from evildoers and abducted them to their punishments in the underworld. (Grk./Rom.)
Hahava: Also, O-po-po, Atata: the fourth cold hell. The name mimics the sound the tongue makes from the cold. (Budh.)
Heliopolis: Ancient center of the sun cult, now part of modern Cairo. (Egy.)
Hâng-tcheou (Tchée-Kiang) Hangchow, capital city of Zhejiang province. (Chin.)
Heracleopolis: A religious and political center on the west bank in Middle Egypt. (Egy.)
Hermopolis: Ancient religious center of Middle Egypt, especially associated with Thoth. (Egy.)
Hôrmezd: Name of various kings of the Parthian and Sasanian dynasties. (Zor.)
Horus: Son of Isis and Osiris; usually in the form of a falcon. One of the earliest of the major ancient Egyptian gods; patron of Hierakonpolis; first known national god; god of kingship; living king identified with Horus; dead king with Osiris. (Egy.)
Horvadad: An archangel; Perfection or Health, one of the seven Amesha Spenta; name of the sixth day of the month and name of the third month; special protector of water. (Zor.)
Huhuva: Also, O-hau-hau, Hahaha, Eou-heou, Ahaha hell: the fifth cold hell. The name mimics the sound the breath makes from the cold. (Budh.)
Humba: Also Humban; a sky god; the supreme Elamite deity. (Mes.)
Hydra: Also Lernaean Hydra. A many-headed serpentine monster found who guards the entrance to the underworld. (Grk./Rom.)
Ihy: A young god personifying the jubilation emanating from the sacred rattle or sistrum (an ancient percussion instrument). (Egy.)
Inanna: Also Ishtar (Assyrian/Babylonian); Sumerian goddess of love, fertility, and war; sister and antithesis of Ereshkigal. (Mes.)

Indra:

 The supreme ruler of the gods, the leader of the Devas, the god of war, the god of thunder and storms, the greatest of all warriors, the strongest of all beings; the defender of gods and mankind against the forces of evil. He had early aspects of a sun-god; he also shows aspects of being a creater god, having set order to the cosmos, and since he brought water to earth, he was a fertility god as well. (Hin.)
Irkalla: Also Erkalla and Aralu; the name of the underworld; the great city of the underworld; the city of the dead under the Apsu; originally another name for Ereshkigal.
Ishtar: Also Inanna (Sumerian); the morning and evening star (Venus), and the Assyrian/Babylonian goddess of fertility, love and war; sister and antithesis of Ereshkigal.
Ishum: Counselor of Nergal; the hero-warrior in the epic Erra and Ishum, where he is also Erra’s (Nergal’s) companion.
Isis: Mother-goddess, sister and wife of Osiris, mother of the young Horus. (Egy.)

Itihasa:

 The word means history as it truly happened; it is a body of Hindu literature that consists of the two great epics: The Ramayana and the Mahabharata. (Hin.)
Ixion: A king of the Lapiths, bound eternally to a burning solar wheel in Tartarus for his treachery. (Grk.)
Jambudvipa: The world of men. One of the four great continents that comprise a Cakravada. (Budh.)

Janaka:

 A king of Mithila and a Rajarshi, whose daughter was the wife of Rama. (Hin.)
Jatavedas:

A common epithet of Agni. (Hin.

Jetavana:

 Also the Jeta Grove, the monastery where the Buddha spent 25 rainy retreats out of 45 and where he delivered the majority of his sermons; in the north Indian province of Kosala, now Sravasti in Uttar Pradesh. (Budh.)
Jinshi: A successful candidate in the highest imperial examination. (Chin.)
Juren: A successful candidate in the imperial examination at the provincial level. (Chin.)

Kalacakra:

 Also Kalakakra, a hell associated by its name with the wheel of time; the fifth hell. (Hin.)

Kalaratri:

 A hell probably associated by its name with the goddess of destruction, trickery and chaos, and also the goddess of the berserk, obsessed and crazed — the cause of all random acts of violence, destruction or chaos. (Hin.)

Kalasutra:

 Or Kala Sutra: also, Heh-sich, i.e., black cord or thread: a hell associated by its name with the thread of time or with death. (Hin.)

In Buddhism, the second hot hell, so-called because of the use of iron wires to torment victims. (Budh.)

kalpa:

 432 million years of mortals. (Hin.)
Kankaniya: A mountain at the entrance to the underworld; known only from the legend of Baal.

Karala:

 A hell associated by its name with being prominent, gaping and formidable. (Hin.)

Karalika:

 A hell probably associated by its name with Chinnamasta Devi, the goddess of the severed head. (Hin.)

Karambhasikata:

 A hell associated by its name with a porridge of scorching sand or gravel. (Hin.)
Karanda Vyûha: A sutra with verse portions dating back to the 4th C. c.e. (Budh.)

Karapatra:

 A hell of saws or associated by its name with being saw-toothed; in some texts the eleventh hell. (Hin.)
Karma: Also Kamma: action or deed; the accumulation of good or bad karma determines the level of rebirth. (Budh.)

Kartika:

 Month of fasting (October/November). (Hin.)

Kasmala:

 A hell associated by its name with dirt, cowardice and despair. (Hin.)
Kamadhatu: The World of Desire, a sort of Earthly Paradise but not the real paradise of Buddhism. (Budh.)
keppu toy: Perhaps a whipping toy, like a top. (Mes.)
Kerakuten: The fifth of the six Devalokas. (Budh.)
Kheraha: Religious center south of modern Cairo. (Egy.)
Khrafstars: Also, Kharvastars; noxious creatures, like little devils. (Zor.)

Kimidins:

 Vile spirits; vile and treacherous spies and informers; the word is used for a class of evil spirits. (Hin.)
Kish: Modern Ukhaimir; one of the most important cities of Sumer and Akkad; 8 mi. east of Babylon. (Mes.)

Kolahala:

 A hell associated by its name with being filled with clamour, outcry, uproar, yelling and din. (Hin.)
Kosala: The north Indian province, modern Oudh; now in Uttar Pradesh; the chief state in the time of Buddha.
koti: A million, ten million, a large number.

Krakaca:

A hell associated by its name with a saw; the third hell. (Hin.)
Krishna: A Hindu deity; also an avatar of the supreme god Vishnu.

Krmibhojana:

 A hell associated by its name with worm-devouring worms. (Hin.)

Ksaranadi:
Also Ksharanadi; a hell associated by its name with a river of ash with corrosive waters; also the name of the river itself. (Hin.)

Kshatriya:

 A princely military order in Vedic society. (Hin.)
Kshitigarbha: A Bodhisattva, the harrower of hell. (Budh.)

Ksuradharas:

Also Kshuradharas; wielding a sharp knife or razor; often referring to branches on trees.

Ksuragradharo:

 A hell associated by its name with having the sharpness of a razor edge. (Hin.)
Ksuramarga: Or Ksuradharamarga, the great road of razor blades in hell. (Budh.)
Ku Poison: A deadly poison; the recipe is given in the well-known Chinese work Instructions to Coroners: “Take a quantity of insects of all kinds and throw them into a vessel of any kind, cover them up, and let a year pass away before you look at them again. The insects will have killed and eaten each other, until there is only one survivors and this one is Ku.” [Herbert A. Giles] (Chin.)

Kudamala:
A hell associated by its name with a bud. (Hin.)
Kukula: A fire of hell. (Budh.)
Kulaba: Apparently a settlement that combined with Eanna to form Uruk. (Mes.)

Kumbhipaka:

 A hell associated by its name with boiling in oil. (Hin.)
Kummâ: Ku-um-ma-a (full form); or Kummaya; an Assyrian prince, whose desire to view of the netherworld is granted in a dream. (Mes.)
Kunapa: A mire of excrements in hell. (Budh.)
kuninu vessel: A particular kind of vessel made of reeds, with a rim coated with bitumen, thus black-lipped. (Mes.)
Kunti:  The wife of Prince Pandu and the mother of Yudhishtira, Bhima, and Arjuna.
kuribu: A demon pictured as a sphinx. (Mes.)
Kur: See Kurnugi.
Kurnugi: Also Kur; the netherworld; hell; land of darkness, of no-return; also a demon who personifies the place. (Mes.)

Kuru:

An Indo-Aryan tribe with a kingdom during the Vedic civilization and later a republican state in the era of the great kingdoms. (Hin.)
Kusharon: The Abhidharmakosaby Vasubandhu, a key text written in 600 verses. (Budh.)
Kusti: Sacred cord worn around the waist by Zoroastrians; the short ritual of untying and retying the kusti. (Zor.)

Kutasalmali:

 A thorny hell named for the Kutasalmali tree, the Sanskrit name for the ceiba tree, which has thick conical spines; in texts sometimes the fifth or tenth hell. (Hin.)
Kutha: A city whose patron god was Nergal, thus the city name may be used as a name for the underworld, Nergal’s dwelling. (Mes.)

Kuttala:

A hell where blood and urine is fed to the inhabitants (Hin.)

Lakh:

 Equals 100,000; often used to designate a number of years. (Hin.)
Lethe: One of the five rivers of Hades, described as the river of oblivion, forgetfulness and unmindfulness, or concealment. (Grk./Rom.)
Liaozhai: A village in Zibo city, Shandong, China.

Loha:

 A hell associated by its name with copper, red hot iron or metal generally. (Hin.)

Lohabhara:

 A hell associated by its name with a burden or abundance of copper, red hot iron or metal generally. (Hin.)

Lohapinda:

 A hell associated by its name with red hot iron balls. (Hin.)

Lohasanku:

 A hell associated by its name with red hot iron nails, spikes, stakes, arrows, spears or darts. (Hin.)
Lotan: Fleeing Serpent; an enemy of Baal; probably a manifestation of the sea. (Can.)
Lugalsula: Gatekeeper of the netherworld; apparently the only surviving reference to Lugalsula is found in the Vision of Kummâ.

Maghavan:

 The wealthy and liberal lord bountiful; used mostly in honor of Indra. (Hin.)

Mahacanda:

 A hell associated by its name with great burning. (Hin.)

Mahaghora:

 A hell associated by its name with great terror and horror. (Hin.)

Mahajvala:

 A hell associated by its name with a great burning fire. (Hin.)

Mahanaraka:

 The great hell. (Hin.)
Mahapadma: The eighth cold hell; named for the fact that the flesh is covered with patches like the great crimson lotus. (Budh.)

mahapapa:

 A great and heinous sin, including the murder of a brahman, drinking liquor, stealing, violating the preceptor’s bed (i.e., his wife), and keeping company with those who commit these sins. (Hin.)

Maharaurava:

 A hell, a most horrifying hell asssociated with much howling; the second hell. (Hin.)

The fifth hot hell; called the great calling-out hell for the exceedingly loud cries of its victims. (Budh.)

Mahatamisraka:

 A hell associated by its name with great darkness. (Hin.)

Mahatamra:

 A hell associated by its name with being very dark red. (Hin.)

Mahavajra:

 A hell associated by its name with a great thunderbolt. (Hin.)

Mahavici:

 A hell associated by its name with great deceit. (Hin.)
Mahayana: One of the major branches of Buddhism, it emphasizes, salvation, compassion, universalism and enlightened wisdom. (Budh.)
Mamitu: Goddess of destiny, the oath, and of fate; a judge in the underworld; occasionally considered Nergal’s consort. (Mes.)

manes:

 The spirits of dead ancestors. (Hin.)

Manjusa:

 A hell associated by its name with a casket, box, chest or basket. (Hin.)

Maruts:

 Minor Vedic storm deities; the sons of Rudra and the attendants of Indra; aggressive and violent; the drivers of the clouds, the bringers of wind, the fellers of trees and the crushers of mountains; sons of Diti. (Hin.)

Matali:

 Indra’s charioteer. (Hin.)
Maudgalyayana: Also Maha Moggallana, in Chinese, Mu-Lien; also known as Kolita (after his village): an arahant, one of the ten great disciples of the Buddha. (Budh.)
me: Plural mes; used in the plural, and defined as the “fundamental, unalterable, comprehensive assortment of powers and duties, norms and standards, rules and regulations, relating to the cosmos and its components, to gods and humans, to cities and countries, and to the varied components of civilized life.” (Samuel Kramer)
Memphis: First capital of Dynastic Egypt; cult center of Ptah; almost opposite modern Cairo. (Egy.)
Meskhenet: A goddess of childbirth who gives the life force Ka, an aspect of the soul) to the child; goddess of fate. (Egy.)
Mihir: Yazad who presides over the contract; name of the sixteenth day of the month according to the Zoroastrian religious calendar; name of the seventh month. (Zor.)
Min: Phallic fertility god of Coptos. (Egy.)
Minos: A judge of the dead in the underworld. (Grk.)

Mithra:

 Also Mitra; Vedic god of the sun; brother of Varuna; the guardian of the cosmic order; god of friendships and contracts; watches over the daytime hours; good-natured and a mediator between the gods and man; son of Diti and one of the Adityas; later the god Mithra of Old Iran — where he is mentioned as the son of Ahura Mazda — and of Rome. (Hin., Zor.)

Mitra:

 See Mithra.
Mnemosyne: The personification of memory. In the underworld, she is overseer of a pool or lake that is the counterpart to Lethe. (Grk.)
Mot: See Death.
Muck: A name for Death’s palace of the underworld
Namtar: Son of Ereshkigal and Enlil; the vizier and messenger of the netherworld; presider over disease.
Namtartu: Concubine of Namtar; probably an underworld goddess; apparently the only surviving reference to Namtartu is found in the Vision of Kummâ.
Nanna: Also Sin; the moon god; son of the gods Enlil and Ninlil; husband of Ningal, and together the parents of Inanna/Ishtar.
Naprushu: An Elamite deity. (Mes.)
Naraka: Also, Ti-yuh. Earth Prison; like hell, but not eternal. However, the ages spent there might almost be considered an eternity, except that in Buddhism, the dead are reborn. Some translators refer to this as Purgatory, but that is not any better as a translation, because in the Christian world purgatory is a place of transition between earthly life and eternal life in heaven, not between two temporal earthly lives. (Budh.)

Narada:

 A saint of the celestial class who often comes down to earth to report what is going on in heaven and returns with his account of what is being done on earth. (Hin.)

Narakanayika:

 A hell probably associated by its name with female inhabitants of hell. (Hin.)
Nârâyana: In some sources he is identified with the original man, and in others with Vishnu. (Budh.)
Nedjefet: A place in the region of Asyut. (Egy.)
Nedu: The gatekeeper of the netherworld; apparently the only surviving reference to Nedu is found in the Vision of Kummâ. (Mes.)
Nefertum: Solar diety associated with the blue lotus blossom; appears in The Book of the Dead as the one who brings evildoers to the slaughter block and a member of the council that judges the dead. (Egy.)
Nergal: A warrior and master of the netherworld; the plague god; god of war and pestilence; related to Mars; husband of Ereshkigal. (Mes.)
Neti: Ereshkigal’s chief doorman in the netherworld; apparently the only surviving reference to Neti is found in the Descent of Inanna.(Mes.)
Ningal: “Great Lady”; he wife of Nanna and the mother of Utu and Inanna. (Mes.)
Ninshubur: Servant, friend and second-in-command to Inanna; messenger and traveller; associated with Mercury; in Sumer Ninshubur is a female, in the Akkadian empire, a male.(Mes.)
Nippur: Modern Niffer or Nuffar; ancient Sumerian and Babylonian city, 100 mi. SE of Babylon. (Mes.)
Nirarbuda: Also, Nirarvata, Ni-lai-feou-to, Nirabbuda Ni-lai-fan-to: the second cold hell. (Budh.)

Nirrti:

 Goddess of destruction and death; lives in the south — regarded as the land of the dead; her husband and masculine aspect is Nirrta; in later Hinduism, Nirrti becomes a male Dikpala god of terrifying aspect. (Hin.)

Nirucchvasa:

 A hell characterized with having the effect of stopping the breath. (Hin.)

Nisita:

 A sharp hell. (Hin.)
Nîzist: Also Nazishto; a demon. (Zor.)
Nome: One of the forty-two administrative and religious districts into which Egypt was divided, twenty-two in Upper Egypt, twenty in Lower Egypt. Busurite and Double Scepter. (Egy.)
Osiris: God of the dead, legendary primeval king of Egypt, slain by his brother Seth; also a title commonly prefixed to the name of the deceased (Osiris N.N.), who thus became identified with the god. (Egy.)

Padma:

 A lotus; used as a characteristic of one of the Hindu hells. (Hin.)

Also, Po-to-ma, Po-teou-mo, Soghandhika: The seventh cold hell; named for the fact that the flesh is covered with patches like the crimson lotus. (Budh.)

Padmavati:

 An obscure principality; also a name used for women and for both a Hindu and Jain goddess; a name applied to hell. (Hin.)
Pancakonika: A subdivision of Hindu hell. (Hin.)

Pancala:

 Also Panchala; an ancient kingdom that corresponds to the geographical area between the Ganges River and Yamuna River around the cities of Kanpur and Varanasi. (Hin.)

Pandu:

 An excellent archer, commander of King Dhritarashtra’s army and ruler of his kingdom; father of Yudhishthira and the rest of the Pandavas. (Hin.)
Papsukkal: A secondary Mesopotamian god, who acts as a guard, messenger and minister to the primary gods. (Mes.)

Paritapa:

 The name of a hell especially characterized by miserable conditions. (Hin.)
Persephone: Also Proserpine and Proserpina (Rom.) and Persephassa; daughter of Zeus and Demeter, goddess of the underworld and wife of Hades, as well as a fertility goddess of flowers, spring, and vegetation. (Grk./Rom.)
Phlegethon, or Pyriphlegethon: One of the five rivers of Hades, sometimes described as a river of wailing. Also Pyriphlegethon. (Grk./Rom.)
Phlegm: A name for Death’s land of the underworld. (Can.)
Pidray: Daughter of Baal, maid of light; name probably means “misty,” “cloudy.” (Can.)

Pracanda:

 A hell especially characterized as terrible, furious, dangerous, fierce. (Hin.)
Pratapana: The seventh hot hell. (Budh.)

Pratoda:

 A hell associated by its name with the goad used by a driver to urge his steeds. (Hin.)
Pretas: Spirits of the dead or ghosts, beings in a state of punishment, always described as emaciated and hunger-stricken. (Budh.)

Pritha:

 Later known as Kunti; first wife of Pandu and mother of Yudhishthira. (Hin.)
Prometheus: A Titan, who stole fire from Mount Olympus for humanity, which he created. Zeus assigned him eternal punishment in Tartarus for this theft. (Grk.)

Purana:

 A Sanskrit verse text containing mythological accounts of the ancient times. (Hin.)
Purvavideha: One of the four great continents that comprise a Cakravada. (Budh.)

Putimrttika:

 A hell associated by its name with stinking clay. (Hin.)

Putivaktra:

 A hell, but any special nature indicated by its name is unclear. (Hin.)

rajarshi:

 A king (rajan) who also became a saint (rishi). (Hin.)
raksasas: Also, rakshasas, râkshas, rasetsu: fiends, demons and goblins going about at night, disturbing sacrifices and devout men, ensnaring, torturing and even devouring human beings (i.e. the flesh of the dead); generally hostile to the human race, although on occasion, they can sometimes also be friendly; demons or demonesses of the wilderness. The Rakshas are led by Ravana, their king, and are the eternal enemies of Vishnu, one of the foremost divinities of the Hindu pantheon. The Rakshas are the descendants of Rishi Kashyapa, a sage and a seer. They usually appear in the shape of a dog or a bird with a fat body, or as a skeleton.(Hin., Budh.)

Raktapuya:

 A hell, numbered as the sixth; any special nature indicated by its name is unclear, however, sinners are roasted here. (Hin.)
Rashnu: Lit. “truth, justice,” name of a yazad; name of the eighteenth day of the month according to the Zoroastrian religious calendar. (Zor.)

Raurava:

 Also, Kiau-hwan: a hell associated by its name with a place of howling from the constant shrieks of the sufferers; from the root of the word "ru" or "rud" to cry. The first Hindu hell and fourth hot Buddhist hell. (Hin., Budh.)
Râvana:

The demon-king of Lanka and leader of the Rakshas; the principal antagonist of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. He had ten heads and twenty arms, and was destroyed by the epic’s hero, Rama. (Hin., Budh.)
Re: Also, Ra. Form of the sun-god at his noonday strength, often falcon-headed. (Egy.)
Renenutet: A goddess of childbirth who gives the name (Ren, an aspect of the soul) to the child; goddess of destiny. (Egy.)
Rhadamanthus: Son of Zeus and Europa, brother of Minos. One of the judges of the dead. (Grk.)

Rjisa:

 A hell; its name means “moistened.” (Hin.)
Rosetjau: Name of the necropolis of Giza or Memphis, later extended to mean the Other World in general. (Egy.)
Ruty: Form of the sun god as two lions back-to-back; also called Double Lion. (Egy.)

Sahadeva:

 One of the sons of Pandu; a great astrologer with foreknowledge of the outcome of the Mahabharata war. (Hin.)

Sahasrajit:

 One of the names of Krishna meaning “one who vanquishes thousands.” (Hin.)

Sakakola:

 A hell, but any special nature indicated by its name is unclear. (Hin.)
Sakra: An epithet of Indra. (Hin.)

Salmala:

 A hell identified with one of the seven concentric island continents or globes of the visible planetary chain of the same name. (Hin.)

salmali:

 A tree that grows in hell and is associated with torture; also the name of the main river among the hells. (Hin.)
Salmoneus: Brother of Sisyphus. Zeus struck dead the hubristic Salmoneus with a thunderbolt for daring to imitate him and consigned him to eternal torment in Tartarus. (Grk.)

Samdamsa:

 A hell associated by its name with pincers. (Hin.)

Sampratapana:

 A hell associated by its name with extreme dryness. (Hin.)

Samsosana:

 A hell of drying up. (Hin.)
Sandjuva: Also, Samjiva, Sanjiva, Tang-hwoh or Kang-hwoh; the first Hot Hell. (Budh.)

Sanghata:

 Also Samghata, Chung-hoh, i.e., assembled union or Fau-yah; a hell associated by its name with being close, crowded and dense; so-called because all torments are united here. (Hin.)

The third hot Buhhdist hell. (Budh.)

Sanjivana:

 A hell associated by its name with restoring to life. (Hin.)

Saptabhuma:

 A hell probably associated by its name with being full of curses. (Hin.)
shade The spirit, ghost or sould of a dead person. (Grk., Rom.)
Shamash: Also Utu; The sun god; the god of truth and justice because he sees everything. (Mes.)
Shara: Son of Inanna. (Mes.)

shastras:

 The texts of scripture. (Hin.)
Shu: God of air and light. (Egy.)
Shulak: A god in the form of a lion who stands on his hind legs; apparently the only surviving reference to Shulak is found in the Vision of Kummâ.(Mes.)
Shohonenkyo: Also Shohonenshokyo: a work translated from Sanskrit to Chinese in the 6th C. c.e., consisting of seven chapters: the results of the ten kinds of good conduct, birth and death, the different hells, the condition of pretas, their birth as a beast, the condition of devas, the Koya-Smrity-upasthana. (Budh.)

Sibi:

 A mythic king who offered to sacrifice his life for a pigeon. (Hin.)
Sin: See Nanna. (Mes.)
Sisyphus: Brother of Salmoneus. His hubris and cunning, always tricking death, resulted in a punishment set by Zeus, which entailed eternally pushing a boulder up a mountain in Tartarus only to have it slip back down to the bottom just before he reaches the top. (Grk.)

Slemabhojana:

 Slime-eating hell. (Hin.)

soma:

 Also soma juice; the juice of a milky climbing plant (Asclepias acida). It was extracted and fermented to form a beverage used for libations and as a drink of Brahmans; also the god who animated soma juice: primeval, all-powerful, curer of diseases, bestower of riches, lord of other gods, and even identified with the Supreme Being; eventually a name associated with the moon. (Hin.)

Sonitapuyabhojana:

 A hell of blood and pus-eating. (Hin.)
Spendarmad: Lit. “Holy Devotion,” the Amesha Spenta presiding over the earth; name of the fifth day of the month according to the Zoroastrian religious calendar; name of the twelfth month. (Zor.)

sraddha:

 A social and religious ceremony performed to honor a dead ancestor; the responsibility of male descendants. (Hin.)

Srinjayas:

 A people of the north. (Hin.)
Srôsh: Also Surush, Sirushi, Sraosha, Srosh, Serosh, and Surush Asha; an angel, one of the three angels who preside over of the judgment of the soul at death, a guardian of the Chinvât Bridge. (Zor.)
Styx: One of the five rivers of Hades. Also known as the Stygian River. It forms the border with Earth. Also a goddess, the daughter of Tethys. (Grk./Rom.)

Subhumika:

 A hell possibly associated by its name with a town on the Saraswati River. (Hin.)
Subhuti: A disciple of the Buddha. (Budh.)

Sudirgha:

 A very long hell. (Hin.)

Sughora:

 A very terrible, dreadful and violent hell. (Hin.)

Sukesin:

 A demon to whom the Vamana Purana decription of hell is narrated. (Hin.)
Sukhavati: The pure and happy realm; a Buddhist paradise in the West. (Budh.)

Suska:

 A non-deliberate sin. (Hin.)

Svanabhojana:

 Dog-eating hell. (Hin.)
Swamp: A name for Death’s city of in underworld
Swastika: The symbol on Buddha’s heart; also known in the western world — before the expropriation of the symbol by the Nazis — as Thor’s hammer. (Budh.)
Taenarus: An entrance to the underworld at the tip of the middle peninsula on the south coast of the Peloponnese. (Grk.)

Tailapaka:

 A hell associated by its name with the crushing of oil seeds. (Hin.)
T’ai-shan: A mountain in China sacred in the Three Systems; a diety of Taoism.
Takejizaiten: The sixth of the six Devalokas; also refers to devil king of the sixth heaven. (Budh.)
Tallay: Daughter of Baal, maid of rain; name probably means “dewy.” (Can.)

Tamisra:

 See Tamisraka.

Tamisraka:

 Also Tamisra; a hell of fire; a dark hell; the third hell; a hell associated by its name with darkness. (Hin.)
Tanapuhrs: A mortal sin, or a good deed which can balance a mortal sin. (Zor.)
Tantalus: Son of Zeus and one of the Titans, assigned to eternal suffering in Tartarus for cannibalism and kin-slaying. Fruit and water were always before him, but ever out of his grasp. (Grk.)

Tapana:

 A hell associated by its name with the capacity to burn from the root “tap,” “to be hot,” “to burn.” (Hin.) The sixth hot Buddhist hell. (Budh.)

Taptakumbha:

 A hell associated by its name with a burning hot vat; the ninth hell. (Hin.)
Taptavaluka: A hell associated by its name with very hot sand. (Hin.)

Taralatara:

 A hell possibly associated by its name with trembling or quivering. (Hin.)
Targuziza: Also Targhizizi; a mountain at the entrance to the underworld, which, with its twin Mount Tharumagi, also holds up the firmament; known only from the legend of Baal. (Can.)
Tartarus: A deep abyss below Hades set aside for the punishment of the Titans. (Grk./Rom.)
Tathâgatha: A title of the Buddha after his enlightenment, meaning “Thus Gone.” (Budh.)
Tharumagi: A mountain at the entrance to the underworld, which, with its twin Mount Targuziza, also holds up the firmament; known only from the legend of Baal. (Can.)
Theseus: The mythical king of Athens who encounters the six entrances to Hades as he journeys to claim his birthright. (Grk.)
Thoth: God of Hermopolis; sometimes represented as a baboon and sometimes as an ibis; considered the heart and tongue of Re. (Egy.)
Three Systems or Religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism.
Titans: The second generation of Greek gods who descended from the primordial beings whom they overthrew. After their defeat in the War of the Titans, the Olympian deities succeeded them and cast them into Tartarus. (Grk.)
Tityus: Son of Zeus, a giant slain by Artemis and Apollo for the attempted rape of Leto and stretched out in Tartarus where two vultures eat his regenerating liver each night (Grk.)
Toriten: The second of the six Devalokas. (Budh.)
Tosotsuten: The fourth of the six Devalokas. (Budh.)

Trikona:

 A hell possibly associated by its name with having three angles. (Hin.)

Tvastar:

 Artist of the gods. (Hin.)
Twisting Serpent: Manifestation of the sea. (Can.)
Ugar: Messenger of Baal, sibling of Gapn; name means “field.” (Can.)

Ugragandha:

 A hell associated by its name with a plant either of the calamus family or of the allium family, particularly garlic. (Hin.)
Umma: Modern Tell Jokha; temple city of Shara; Sumerian city-state; NNW of Nasiriyah. (Mes.)
Unen-Nefer: Also Unefer and Wennefer, Osiris in his capacity of god and judge of the dead in the underworld; associated with resurrection; name probably means “good being.” (Egy.)
Uraeus: The emblem of the upright cobra symbolizing sovereignty, royalty, deity; symbol of divine authority, representing the Goddess Wedjat as the all seeing eye of Re. (Egy.)
Uruk: Modern Warka (Arabic:); Biblical Erech; one of the earliest major city-states of Sumer; in southern Babylonia, on the Euphrates NW of Ur. (Mes.)

usira:

 A kind of hard-wood plant. (Hin.)
Utpala: Also, Yu-po-lo, Kamuda: the sixth cold hell; named for the fact that the flesh is covered with patches like the blue lotus. (Budh.)
Utsada: A subsidiary hell or sub-hell.
Uttarakuru: One of the four great continents that comprise a Cakravada.
Utu: Akkadian Shamash; the Sumerian sun god; son of Nanna the moon lord and his consort Ningal, and twin brother of Inanna; a judge and guardian of justice.
Utukku: A spirit either benevolent (Shedu) or evil (Edimmu or Ekimmu). (Mes.)

Vadha:

 Doom, killing, punishment, execution. (Hin.)
Vahram: See Bahram.

Vaikunta:

 Both the dwelling place of Vishna and the name of his triple-headed image (as lion, human and boar). (Hin.)

Vaisakha:

 The month beginning the Hindu New Year (April–May); characterized by ritual bathing, celebration and worship. (Hin.)

Vaishmpayana:

 A disciple of Vyasa, who had witnessed the Mahabharata War and dictated it to Ganesha within earshot of Vaishmpayana, who was then able to retell the story exactly to King Janamejaya of Hastinavati and so the story spread. (Hin.)

Vaishya:

 A member of the next to lowest of four Hindu castes. It included merchants, businessmen, landowners, farmers, herders, and artisans. (Hin.)

Vaitarani:

 The turbulent and swift river that must be crossed to enter hell; sometimes called the 18th hell; it is filled with blood, dung and all sorts of filth. (Hin.)

Vajasastraka:

 A hell, but any special nature indicated by its name is unclear. (Hin.)

Vanama:

 The dwarf avatar of Vishnu. (Hin.)

Vartula:

 A hell associated by its name with being round or circular. (Hin.)

Varuna:

 Keeper of the cosmic order and celestial waters; one of the most important Vedic gods. (Hin.)

Vasistha:

 A sage in the yoga tradition; the author of Vedic hymns; means most excellent sage (Hin.)

Vasus:

 In Vedic Hinduism, the eight attendants of Indra; in later Hinduism, the attendants of Vishnu. (Hin.)

Vedas:

 The four ancient scriptures or primary sacred texts of Hinduism, including Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Veda and Atharva-Veda. (Hin.)

Vibhojana:

A hell probably associated by its name with dividing or being divided. (Hin.)

Vikarala:

 A hell associated by its name with being red or ferocious. (Hin.)

Vilepa:

 A hell associated by its name with ointments. (Hin.)

Vindhya:

 The range of hills that separates the Indian subcontinent into northern and southern India.

Vinmutra:

 Feces and urine hell. (Hin.)

Vishnu:

 A Hindu god who rose from a position of little importance in the Vedas to become one of the major deities; preserver of the universe and embodiment of goodness and mercy; today the supreme god for the majority of Hindus (the Vaishnavas). (Hin.)

Visvedevas:

 Group of Hindu demigods. (Hin.)

Vitahavya:

 King of the Haihayas of the Vatsa kingdom, one of the sixteen great kingdoms what is now modern India, located near the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers with its capital near modern Allahabad. (Hin.)
Vîzarsh: Also Vîzarâsh, Vizaresha; the fiend, the demon. (Zor.)

Vritra:

 “Enveloper”; cosmic dragon or serpent, archdemon; bringer of drought; so huge that his coils surrounded mountains and his head touched the sky; his chief enemy was Indra. (Hin.)

Vrkabhaksa:

 Wolf-eating hell. (Hin.)

Vrsicikasana:

 Scorpion-eating hell. (Hin.)
Wenis: Also Wenes; ancient town in the nineteenth Upper Egyptian nome, on the West Bank in Middle Egypt. (Egy.)
Wennefer: See Unen-nefer.
Withering Stone: The first resting place in the kingdom of the dead. It may be comically related to other stones in Greek literature (Grk.)
Wu-chiao Rock: Gate of the infernal regions. (Chin.)
Xiucai: A successful candidate in the imperial examination at the county level. (Chin.)
Yabru: Also Jabru; Elamite god of the underworld, the father of all Elamite gods. (Mes.)

Yajna:

 A sacrifice or sacred ritual. (Hin.)

Yama:

 Also, Yen-wang, Yen-lo, Yanluo Wang. Hindu god of death and lord of justice; a generic term for all the judges. A legend states he was formerly President of the First Court, but being too lenient in allowing men to return to life, he was transferred to the Fifth Court. (Hin., Tao., Budh.)
Yamaraksasas: Servants of Yama. (Budh.)
Yamaten: The third of the six Devalokas. (Budh.)
Yamatoot: A servant of Yama. (Budh.)
Yamen: The office or residence of an official in the Chinese empire. (Chin.)

Yantrapida:

 Pressing-machine hell. (Hin.)
Yasha: Also Yaksha, spirits of the trees, forests, and villages that could be both benign or demonic; as , they are flesh-eating demons sometimes called Rasetsu. (Budh.)
Yasht: Hymns of praise to the divine entities. (Zor.)

Yatudhana:

 Probably a goblin or sorcerer; associated with black magic. (Hin.)
Yazad: A created spiritual being, worthy of being honored or praised. (Zor.)
Yazishn: A sacred ceremony or sacrifice. (Zor.)
Yellow Springs: Chinese hell.
Yojana: Also Yodjana; a length of about seven miles; also variously estimated at from five to nine English miles.

Yudhishthira:

 Adept and pious warrior of the Mahabharata; eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti; principal protagonist of the Kurukshetra War; known as Dharmaraja (most pious one). (Hin.)
Yugaron: “Treatise on Yoga.” (Budh.)

Yugas:

 The four cyclic measures or epochs of time and of the world: Satya or Krita (1,728,000 years), Treta (1,296,000 years), Dvapara (864,000 years), and Kali (423,000) years). (Hin.)
Zabalam: Zabala, a city in Sumer, modern Tell Ibzeikh. (Mes.)
Zaphon: Mountain where Baal lives at the mouth of the Orontes River, near the border of Turkey and Syria. (Can.)


Comments or Questions?
rev. 10/10/2018