The
Vishnu Purana tells of a visit by the divine wandering sage
Narada to Patala. Narada describes Patala as more beautiful than Svarga. Patala is described as filled with splendid jewels, beautiful groves and lakes and lovely asura maidens. Sweet fragrance is in the air and is fused with sweet music. The soil here is white, black, purple, sandy, yellow, stony and also of gold. The
Bhagavata Purana calls the seven lower regions
bila-svargas ("subterranean heavens") and they are regarded as planets or planetary systems below the earth. These regions are described as being more opulent than the upper heavenly regions of the universe. The life here is of pleasure, wealth and luxury, with no distress. The asura architect
Maya has constructed palaces, temples, houses, yards and hotels for foreigners, with jewels. The natural beauty of Patala is said to surpass that of Svarga. There is no sunlight in the lower realms, but the darkness is dissipated by the shining of the jewels that the residents of Patala wear. There is no old age, no sweat, no disease in Patala. The
Vishnu Purana, states the seven realms of Patala, which are located one above the other, are seventy thousand
yojanas (a unit of measurement) below the Earth's surface. Each of them extends ten thousand
Yojanas. In
Vishnu Purana, they are named as from the highest to the lowest as: Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Garbhastimat, Mahatala, Sutala and Patala. In the
Bhagavata Purana and the
Padma Purana, they are called Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala and Patala. The
Shiva Purana, replaces Mahatala with Tala. The
Vayu Purana calls them Rasatala, Sutala, Vitala, Gabhastala, Mahatala, Sritala and Patala. The seven Patalas as well as the earth above them is supported on the head of the
tamasic (dark) form of
Vishnu, the thousand-headed nāga
Shesha. Sometimes,
Shesha is described as residing in the lowest region of Patala instead of below it. Below the regions of Patala lies
Naraka, the Hindu Hell – the realm of death where sinners are punished. Different realms of Patala are ruled by different asura and Nagas; usually with the Nagas headed by
Vasuki assigned to the lowest realm.
Vayu Purana records each realm of Patala has cities in it. The first region has the cities of the daitya Namuchi and Naga
Kaliya; in the second
Hayagriva and Naga
Takshaka; in the third, those of
Prahlada and Hemaka; in the fourth of
Kalanemi and Vainateya; in the fifth of
Hiranyaksha and
Kirmira and in the sixth, of
Puloman and Vasuki.
Bali rules as the sovereign king of Patala. The
Bhagavata Purana presents a detailed description of the seven lower realms. A similar description of the seven Patalas also appears in the
Devi-Bhagavata Purana.
Atala Atala is ruled by Bala – a son of Maya – who possesses mystical powers. By one yawn, Bala created three types of women –
svairiṇīs ("self-willed"), who like to marry men from their own group;
kāmiṇīs ("lustful"), who marry men from any group, and the
punshchalīs ("those who wholly give themselves up"), who keep changing their partners. When a man enters Atala, these women enchant him and serve him an intoxicating
cannabis drink that induces sexual energy in the man. Then, these women enjoy sexual play with the traveller, who feels to be stronger than ten thousand elephants and forgets impending death.
Vitala Vitala is ruled by the god Hara-Bhava (possibly a form of Shiva), who dwells with attendant
ganas including ghosts and goblins as the master of gold mines along with his consort
Bhavani, as the progenitor of living beings and their sexual fluids flow as river Hataki here. When fire – fanned by wind – drinks from this river, it spits the water out as a type of gold called Hataka. The residents of this realm are adorned with gold from this region.
Sutala Sutala constructed by
Vishvakarma, is the kingdom of the pious asura king
Bali. The dwarf
avatar of
Vishnu,
Vamana, requested three paces of land, acquired the three worlds in his three paces, and sent Bali – who had conquered the
three worlds – to Sutala, but when Bali surrendered to Vishnu and gave him all of his belongings, Vishnu made him richer than
Indra, the
deva-king of heaven. Highly impressed by the Bali's devotion, Vishnu gave him a boon that he himself would perpetually stand as the watchman to Bali's palace. Bali still prays to Vishnu in this realm.
Talātala Talātala is the realm of the asura-architect
Maya, who is well-versed in sorcery. Shiva, as
Tripurantaka, destroyed the
three cities of Maya, but was later pleased with Maya and gave him this realm and promised to protect him.
Mahātala Mahātala is the abode of many-hooded Nagas (serpents) – the sons of
Kadru, headed by the
Krodhavasha (Irascible) band of Kuhaka, Takshaka, Kaliya and Sushena. They live here with their families in peace but always fear
Garuda.
Rasātala Rasātala at the sole of the feet of the universe form of Vishnu is the home of the
Asuras – Danavas and Daityas, who are mighty but cruel. They are the eternal foes of
Devas (the gods). They live in holes like serpents.
Patala Patala or
Nagaloka is the lowest realm and the region of the Nagas, ruled by
Vasuki (the snake that hangs around Shiva's neck). Here live several Nagas with many hoods. Each of their hoods is decorated by a jewel, a source of light of which illuminates this realm. == Buddhism ==