Janaka Frees the Prisoners of Naraka
King Janaka of Mithilā, the father of Sītā, left his body through deep meditation. As his flying chariot rose, it passed near the city of Dharmarāja, the realm of Yama. The breeze from his body eased the pain of the beings suffering there in naraka (the place of punishment). Janaka would not leave them. The Pātāla Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in Chapter 30.
Where the account is told
This account sits inside the larger Aśvamedha story. Śatrughna’s army was following the yajña (fire ritual) horse towards Tejahpura. His minister Sumati told the story of King Ṛtambhara. Ṛtambhara had no child. He served a cow and received a son, Satyavān. Inside that story, the ṛshi (seer) Jābāli told the ancient account of Janaka. He told it to show the power of serving a cow and the power of a person’s own puṇya (merit).
Janaka’s departure
Janaka, the great king of Videha at Mithilā, gave up his body through yoga-nirodha, the stilling of the mind in meditation. A flying chariot hung with clusters of small bells came for him. His servants carried his body and placed it in the chariot, and it rose.
On the way the chariot passed near the city of Dharmarāja. There, in crores (tens of millions) of narakas, beings were being boiled, burnt and pierced, and they were in great pain. The breezes that blew from Janaka’s body touched them, and at once their pain eased. The torment that had been too much to bear became bearable.
They felt this relief and were afraid the chariot would move on. They cried out: “O blessed one, do not go from here. We who are tormented are happy because of the wind blowing from your body.”
Janaka’s decision
Janaka heard them and was filled with compassion. He thought: “If these beings are happy here because the wind from my body touches them, I shall stay in this city. For me this is a lovely svarga (heaven).” Full of compassion, he decided to stay at the gate of naraka. He refused to go on to Vaikuṇṭha.
Dharmarāja was at the door of naraka, directing the punishment of those who had done pāpa. He saw King Janaka, the crest-jewel of righteousness, standing in his flying chariot. Dharmarāja smiled and asked him: “O king, you have done good deeds. Why have you come here? This place is for wicked people who harm others. Those who leave their faultless, righteous wives come here. Those who cheat their friends for wealth come here. Those who do not remember Rāma in mind, in word or in deed are brought here and boiled. Those who have remembered Bhagavān Rāma leave my place and go quickly to Vaikuṇṭha. So, O great king, go and enjoy the fruit of your puṇya.”
Janaka asks for their release
Janaka answered: “O Dharmarāja, I will not go to Vaikuṇṭha, because I feel pity for these beings. They are comforted by the wind from my body, and so they stay here. O king, if you release all of them who live in naraka, then I shall go to svarga happy.”
Dharmarāja respected Janaka’s great puṇya and compassion. He pointed to the beings in naraka one by one and named their pāpa. They had left dharma, wanted the wealth of others, cheated friends and harmed the innocent. Janaka asked for each of them, and his stored puṇya moved Dharmarāja to release them.
In this way the whole company in naraka was freed through Janaka’s compassion. They rose to better realms.
What Jābāli taught
Jābāli told this account to King Ṛtambhara. He taught from it that the puṇya of a truly righteous person can free others from naraka, and not only that person. The breeze from Janaka’s body alone was enough to ease the suffering of naraka.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 30