Hinduism
Naraka in Vedas, is a place where souls are sent for the expiation of their sins. It is mentioned especially in dharmaśāstras, itihāsas and Purāṇas but also in Vedic samhitas, Aranyakas and Upaniṣads. Some Upanisads speak of 'darkness' instead of hell. A summary of Upaniṣads, Bhagavad Gita, mentions hell several times. Even Adi Sankara mentions it in his commentary on Vedanta sutra. Still, some people like members of Arya Samaj don't accept the existence of Naraka or consider it metaphorical.
In Puranas like Bhagavata Purana, Garuda Purana and Vishnu Purana there are elaborate descriptions of many hells. They are situated above Garbhodaka ocean.
Yama, Lord of Justice, puts living beings after death for appropriate punishment, for example, in boiling oil. Even Mukti-yogyas (souls eligible for mukti or moksha, liberation), and Nitya-samsarins (forever transmigrating ones in Dvaita theology) can experience Naraka for expiation. After the period of punishment is complete, they are reborn on earth in human or animal bodies. Therefore neither naraka nor svarga are permanent abodes.
Yama Loka is the abode of Lord Yama. Yama is Dharmaraja or God of justice; Yama Loka is a temporary purgatorium for sinners or papis. According to Hindu scriptures, Yama's divine assistant Lord Chitragupta maintains a record of the individual deeds of every living being in the world, and based on the complete audit of his deeds, dispatches the soul of the deceased either to Svarga (Heaven) or to the various Narakas according to the nature of their sins. The scriptures describe that even people who have done a majority of good deeds could come to Yama Loka for redemption from the small sins they have committed, and once the punishments have been served for those sins they could be sent for rebirth or to heaven. In the epic of Mahabharata, even the Pandavas (who represent righteousness and virtuousness) spent a brief time in hell for their small sins.
At the time of death, sinful souls are vulnerable for capture by Yamadutas, servants of Yama (who comes personally only in special cases). Yama ordered his servants to leave Vaishnavas alone. Sri Vaishnavas are taken by Vishnudutas to Vaikuntha and Gaudiya Vaishnavas to Goloka.
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