Verse 1

¹Great sage, how does this variety in the world come about? ²Because the doer is made of three strands, the courses his actions take are of different kinds, following his trust; and all of them belong to everyone, in differing measure. ³Now, in the same way, the fruit of wrongdoing, whose mark is what is forbidden, differs, since the trust of the one who does it differs. Those courses, which are the ripening of desires made under beginningless ignorance, have set out by the thousand; I shall describe the bulk of them. ⁴Revered one, are the hells particular regions, or are they outside the three worlds, or in the space between?

⁵In the space between the three worlds, in the southern quarter, below the earth and above the water. There live the companies of the fathers, the Agnisvattas and the rest, wishing true blessings on their own lines with the deepest concentration. ⁶There the revered king of the fathers, the son of the sun, holds punishment with his followers over the creatures who have died and been brought into his country by his men, according to the fault and blame of their action, never overstepping the Bhagavan's rule.