(untitled)

Why and when did the idea of hell (Naraka) come about in India? My hunch is that hell as a concept probably spread from the middle east.

I want to discuss the history of hell as a concept in the east, and more generally the concept of fire in religion. I want to discuss how the concept of hell came to India. Naraka interests me because it seems analogous to the Christian idea of hell in its use of fire and the idea of a post-death realm of punishment for misdeeds in life. (Which don't seem to me to be universal ideas, given the apparent absence of these concepts in relation to the ancient Hebrew Sheol, or reincarnation in Judaism, or in Egyptian religion, or Platonism, or in the Greek idea of Hades, or the Indoeuropean idea of reincarnation [afaik, they believed in a sort of tripartite soul with different parts enduring different amounts - I welcome correction on this though].) I believe it may have middle eastern origins due to the association of Yahweh with fire and vulcanism, but my understanding of what caused the historical development of Indian religion is poor. I'm partially thinking along the lines of Mark Brahmin's work, wherein he briefly mentions the Brahmins being "priestly and Semitic in orientation" (http://theapolloniantransmission.com/2019/08/20/apolloism-versus-civilization-ending-personal-salvation-cults/). Brahmin's idea is of elements of Judaism or semitic religion spreading into pre-Christian Germany, so I assume he takes a similar view here. One way I could check that thesis would be to investigate the origins of naraka in India, and to inquire why this idea came about and took hold. A side question could be to what extent it took hold. But after writing all that, I still think the original question gets at what I was getting at pretty clearly. Why and when did the idea of hell (Naraka) come about in India? I don't want to set people upon my line of thinking. I want to hear theirs.

>>16044 Religions/faith system are broadly divided into Dharmic and Abrahamic. Dharmic being Sanathana dharma which has roots in Indian subcontinent and Abrahamic is based on Abraham I.e Judaism. Sun worship isn't new to Hinduism/Sanatana dharma, having said that Hinduism predates Judaism. I'd reckon Abrahamic system of faith borrowed or absorbed this concept of naraka/hell from the subcontinent.

>>16044 This concept has multiple angles, Zoroastrianism focuses on Fire as a concept that represents God, the religion spread to India after the prosecution of its followers who went to india from Persia. This religion also in a sense inspired all judeo-christian faiths, being arguably the oldest monotheistic religion (dating back 5000-6000 years iirc. Religious texts also speak of fire being brought to man, much like the story of Prometheus. Also Islam is derived loosely from Judaism, keep in mind it is one of the younger religions. There is however an aspect of Islam that describes the Djinn (Genies) which are jealous creatures borne of smokeless flame that envy the free will that Allah gave Man. In Islam, Hell is described as a place of suffering where hot coals are poured down the throats of sinners. Hell on the other hand as a fiery abyss in the the western sense is greatly due to the teachings of Dante in his writings. Prior to his description of an inferno, the concept of hell in the west was that Hell was a desolate, dark and cold place far from the light of God.