PLATE VIII
A and B
Tortures of Hell
Yudhiṣṭhira, the only one of the Pandavas to attain alive to heaven, was submitted to a final test before being permitted to join his brothers and the other heroes of old. Through illusion he was caused to see the tortures of the damned, for "hell must necessarily be seen by all kings" (Mahābhārata, xviii. 27 ff.). Passing through the repellent horrors of decay, Yudhiṣṭhira stands aghast at the torments which he beholds. Christian influence is evident in the use of crucifixion as a punishment, and also in the figure of the hero's guide, the messenger of the gods. From a painting in the Jaipur manuscript of the Razmnāmah (a Persian abridgement of the Mahābhārata). After Hendley, Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition, iv, Plates CXXXII, CXXXIII.
