There is an
intermediate stage, a 'Narak', or hell, for bad men, and a
'Baikunth', or paradise, for the good, in which they find their
felicity in serving that god of the three to which they have
specially devoted themselves while on earth. But from this stage,
after the period of their sentence is expired, men go back to their
pilgrimage on earth again.
There are numerous Deos (Devas), or good spirits, of whom Indra is
the chief; [3] and Daityas, or bad spirits; and there have also been
a great number of incarnations from the three great gods, and their
consorts, who have made their appearance upon the earth when required
for particular purposes. All these incarnations are called 'Avatars',
or descents. Vishnu has been eleven times on the globe in different
shapes, and Siva seven times.[4] The avatars of Vishnu are celebrated
in many popular poems, such as the Ramayana, or history of the Rape
of Sita, the wife of Rama, the seventh incarnation;[5] the
Mahabharata, and the Bhagavata [Purana], which describe the wars and
amours of this god in his last human shape.[6] All these books are
believed to have been written either by the hand or by the
inspiration of the god himself thousands of years before the events
they describe actually took place.
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