The Black Depths of Hell Trivia Quiz

Answer: Naraka

Not to be confused with the Hindu Hell of the same name. Although the dead do not spend eternity being tormented in Naraka, they remain there for a very long time until their karma has been used up and they are ready to be reborn. The Narakas are described as being like a series of underground caverns under the human world.

There are both hot and cold Narakas, such as Padma (where the skin of the dead is torn by blizzards) and Samghata (where the dead are repeatedly crushed by rocks).

Answer: Mortal

While venial sins do have an adverse effect on the individual's relationship with G-d, dying without repenting of venial sins will land them in purgatory. Although purgatory is a punishment, it is a temporary one. Mortal sins, however, are far more serious, and if the person who has committed it does not repent before they die, they are condemned to hell. Mortal sins include adultery, suicide and blasphemy.

As well as being a serious or 'grave' matter, a mortal sin has to have been committed knowingly and consensually, i.e. the person is well aware that what they are doing is wrong.

Answer: Seven

As with Buddhism, Naraka is the name of the place where the souls of the wicked are sent to make up for their evil deeds in their previous lives, until they are reborn. There are seven layers of Narakas, from Ratnaprabha, a hell filled with jewels, to the dark and foreboding Mahatmahprabha.

The sage Mahavira vividly describes some of the ways in which the wicked are tortured in Sutrakritanga Sutra. For example: 'The prisoners in hell come to the dreadful place called Santakshana (i.e. cutting), where the cruel punishers tie their hands and feet, and with axes in their hands cut them like wooden planks. And they turn the writhing victims round, and stew them, like living fishes, in an iron cauldron filled with their own blood, their limbs covered with ordure, their heads smashed.'

Answer: Tartarus

If you were an average citizen, you would end up in the shadowy Asphodel Fields, and if you were a hero or chosen by the gods, you would go to the Elysian Fields or the Isles of the Blessed, a beautiful utopia with cool breezes and fruit trees. However, if you were evil, you would be sent to Tartarus and fittingly tortured for your crimes.

In Greek mythology, notable residents of Tartarus include Sisyphus, who betrayed the secrets of the gods and was punished by being forced to continually roll a boulder up a hill, only for it to fall back down; and Tantalus, who tricked Demeter into eating human flesh, and was subsequently forced to stand in a pool of water from which he was unable to drink, under a fruit tree which he could not reach.

Answer: Ice and snow

Jahannam is a place where the skin of the wicked is burned black and they have nothing to eat and drink but bitter fruit and scalding water. Zamhareer, however, is the opposite extreme. It is filled with ice, snow and blizzards, and is said to be cold enough to burn the skin. According to Fath ul-Bari (commentary on the Sunni hadith Sahih al-Bukhari): "The companions asked: 'What is the Zamhareer of Jahannam?' He replied: 'It is an abode where the disbeliever is thrown, he would be torn apart by its extreme cold.'"

Answer: Diyu

Similar to the Buddhist Naraka, Diyu is said to have eighteen different levels, though some traditions influenced by Buddhism state that there are ten levels (or courts) which deal with different crimes and are each run by a judge or Yama King, overseen by Yan, the god of death. After doing time in Diyu, the soul is sent off for reincarnation. As even the dead have to pay their way, it is customary for their living relatives to burn 'hell bank notes' made of joss paper.

According to the tradition of the eighteen levels, punishments included being forced to climb a mountain of knives, ground into mince, forced to drink boiling water, and being gored or trampled by wild animals.

Youdu is the capital of Diyu.

Answer: The Bridge of Separation

Chinvat Peretum, the Bridge of Separation, is the bridge that the souls of the dead in Zoroastrianism must cross on their passage into the afterlife. The three angels responsible for passing judgement are Mithra, Soroush and Rashnu, who respectively represent kindness and consideration towards others, the human conscience, and justice. Rashnu carries a set of gold scales with which to weigh the soul's good deeds against its sins. If the good deeds outweigh the bad, the soul has an easy passage into Garo-Demana (the Zoroastrian equivalent of Heaven), but if the opposite happens, the soul is tossed into Drujo-Demana.

According to Zoroastrian belief, a dead person's soul remains close to the body for three days after death. The fourth day is when it makes its passage across the Bridge of Separation.

Answer: Finland

Tuonela - known as Toonela in Estonian tradition - is the realm of the dead in Finnish mythology. It features in the 'Kalevala', an epic poem regarded as the national epic of Finland, where the folk hero Vainamoinen travels to Tuonela seeking knowledge. He is steered across the River of Tuoni by Tuonen Piika, the Girl of Hell, a ferrywoman whose role is similar to that of Charon in Greek mythology. Although the Boy and Girl of Hell try to trap Vainamoinen in Tuonela with iron and copper nets, he transforms into a snake and escapes to warn his people of the dangers of the realm.

Tuoni, the god of the dead, and his wife Tuonetar preside over Tuonela. Surma, a hellhound with a snake for a tail and the power to turn people to stone with a look, keeps an eye out for intruders and would-be escapists.

Answer: Bats

As well as the Bat House, filled with screaming bats with sharp teeth, there was also a house filled with flying razors and a freezing cold house, complete with hail. As if the houses were not enough, the dead also had to cross three rivers - a river of blood, a river of pus, and a river filled with scorpions - and choose which way to turn at a crossroads. Easier said than done - all four roads were equally enticing and spoke to the traveller in order to confuse them.

According to the Popol Vuh, Xibalba was a subterranean land which could be accessed through caves. It was ruled over by twelve demonic lords, led by Hun-Came and Vucub-Caquix. The other ten lords were responsible for killing humans in various ways; Xic and Patan, for instance, caused people to die through coughing up blood.

Answer: False

Don't let the name fool you - Hel is more like the Ancient Greek Asphodel Fields, in that it is a shadowy afterlife for average people who die of old age or disease (as opposed to dying in battle), rather than a place of eternal suffering and torment. Hel is also the name of the goddess who rules the realm.

Nastrand, however, is where the wicked end up. Its name means 'corpse shore' and is filled with poisonous snakes, which spit rivers of venom which the dead have to wade through. The dragon Nidhogg lives there and gnaws on a root of Yggdrasil, the tree of life.