In traditional Khmer Theravada Buddhism, the underworld beneath Yama’s palace contains eight major hot hells (sometimes expanded to sixteen with secondary “cold” hells). These are vividly illustrated in temple murals, shadow-puppet stories, and the hidden corridor of the Terrace of the Leper King. Each hell is reserved for specific sins, and the punishment perfectly mirrors the crime – a principle called karmic retribution.
| Hell Name (Khmer) | Sanskrit Name | Primary Sin(s) Punished | Punishment (as shown in Khmer art) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. សង្ឈាត (Sângkheat) | Sañjīva | Murder, violence | Victims are repeatedly killed and revived only to be killed again by iron mountains crushing them. |
| 2. កាឡសូត្រ (Kâlasutra) | Kālasūtra | Harming monks or parents | Demons slice the body with burning black threads along lines drawn on the skin. |
| 3. សង្ឃាត (Sângkhata) | Saṃghāta | Arrogance, destroying stupas | Giant iron wheels and mountains smash the body into pulp, then revive it. |
| 4. រូរូ (Rauru) | Raurava | Cruelty to animals, adultery | Thrown into pits of fire and boiling metal while being eaten by iron-beaked crows. |
| 5. មហារូរូ (Mâhârauru) | Mahāraurava | Stealing from temples, false monks | Tortured by ferocious dogs and vultures in a hell of screaming darkness. |
| 6. តាបនៈ (Tâbâna) | Tapana | Burning living beings, arson | Impaled on red-hot iron spikes and roasted alive for thousands of years. |
| 7. មហាតាបនៈ (Mâhâtâbâna) | Pratāpana | Killing an arhat (saint) | Burned inside a giant iron oven or molten copper cauldron while demons pour liquid metal over them. |
| 8. អវីចិ (Avici) | Avīci | The five gravest crimes* | Continuous agony with no interval – the worst and longest-lasting hell. |
*The five gravest crimes (អនន្តរិយកម្ម: killing one’s mother, killing one’s father, killing an arhat, wounding a Buddha, or causing schism in the monkhood. There is no escape from Avici until the karma is exhausted – sometimes billions of years.