Ten Courts of Hell
The concept of the "Ten Courts of Hell" began after Chinese folk religions were influenced by Buddhism. In Chinese mythology, the Jade Emperor put King Yama in charge of overseeing the affairs of Diyu. There are 12,800 hells located under the earth - eight dark hells, eight cold hells and 84,000 miscellaneous hells located at the edge of the universe. All will go to Diyu after death but the period of time one spends in Diyu depends on the severity of the sins he or she has committed, and after receiving due punishment, he or she will eventually be sent for reincarnation. In the meantime, souls will pass from stage to stage at the decision of Yama. Yama also reduced the number of hells to ten. He later divided Diyu into ten courts, each overseen by a "Yama King", while he remained as the sovereign ruler of Diyu.
| # | Name and title | Birthday (in the Chinese calendar) |
In charge of (see the Cold and Hot Narakas for details) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiang, King Qinguang 秦廣王蔣 |
1st day of 2nd lunar month | Life and death and fortunes of all human beings | Believed to be Jiang Ziwen of the Eastern Han Dynasty |
| 2 | Li, King Chujiang 楚江王歷 |
1st day of 3rd lunar month | Sañjīva, Arbuda | |
| 3 | Yu, King Songdi 宋帝王余 |
8th day of 2nd lunar month | Kālasūtra, Nirarbuda | |
| 4 | Lü, King Wuguan 五官王呂 |
18th day of 2nd lunar month | Saṃghāta, Aṭaṭa | |
| 5 | Bao, King Yanluo 閻羅王包 |
8th day of 1st lunar month | Raurava, Hahava | Believed to be Bao Zheng of the Northern Song Dynasty |
| 6 | Bi, King Biancheng 卞城王畢 |
8th day of 3rd lunar month | Mahāraurava, Huhuva, and City of Innocent Deaths | |
| 7 | Dong, King Taishan 泰山王董 |
27th day of 3rd lunar month | Tapana, Utpala | Believed to be Dong Ji (董極) of the Later Han Dynasty |
| 8 | Huang, King Dushi 都市王黃 |
1st day of 4th lunar month | Pratāpana, Padma | Believed to be Huang Sile (黃思樂) of the Five Dynasties period |
| 9 | Lu, King Pingdeng 平等王陸 |
8th day of 4th lunar month | Avīci, Mahāpadma | |
| 10 | Xue, King Zhuanlun 轉輪王薛 |
17th day of 4th lunar month | Sending souls for reincarnation |
Read more about this topic: Diyu
Famous quotes containing the words ten, courts and/or hell:
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—Peter Ruric, and Edgar G. Ulmer. Edgar G. Ulmer. Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Bela Lugosi)
“The decisions of law courts should never be printed: in the long run, they form a counterauthority to the law.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
“So he with difficulty and labour hard
Moved on, with difficulty and labour he;
But he once passed, soon after when man fell,
Strange alteration! Sin and Death amain
Following his track, such was the will of Heaven,
Paved after him a broad and beaten way
Over the dark abyss, whose boiling gulf
Tamely endured a bridge of wondrous length
From hell continued reaching th’ utmost orb
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—John Milton (1608–1674)