Featured in Farrago Magazine Edition Two 2026 as part of the Path to Nirvana column

Artwork by Jacaranda Liu

Deva:

The first stage of hell does not look like hell at first. It is

a paradise with pools of wine to drown out your sorrows.

There is a jungle of gluttony where pig’s meat and cake slathered with

cheese and cream grow opulently on trees. There, like a god

who gorges himself fat on mortal offerings, you briefly feel

something like happiness, as if you are fulfilled. You indulge

in mindless eating, mindless drinking, mindless pleasure, eyes

glossy and aimless, numbing yourself with all you can eat.

You may be convinced that you have escaped suffering,

but you have not. Upon this realization, you will have arrived at

Asura:

the second stage of hell—a realm of constant warfare.

You will never escape the clashing of swords, echoing even in sleep.

Sleep comes fitfully and rage never rests. It sears

savagely through your bones like a snake’s scorching venom.

Poison is in your veins, seeping into your heart and mind.

This the realm of demi-gods. Delusions of eternal fulfilment

fall away like the loosening of a blind fold. There is now

a deadly wasp rotting inside every fig that was once sweet.

You are tempted to unleash your hatred upon the world, upon others,

upon the circumstances which you swear are to blame

for your fall from grace. You may fight it all in your mind for

some semblance of revenge, screaming your throat raw for “justice!”

But that fire will too be depleted. With no fight left within you,

you will descend like a tired, lifeless sufferer, into

Preta and Naraka:

the third and fourth stages of hell. In the third stage,

you will be hungry ghost deprived of everything that you once were,

roaming the blackened earth for anything to fill your hollowness.

You crave the joy and love of the past to fill the gaping hole

from your heart to your stomach. Everything you consume falls through.

You are no longer surprised when you slip into the fourth stage—

the deep abyss called rock bottom. This is Hell, for all hell is worth.

Suffering seems to be endless, and fires seem to burn for an eternity.

But you will eventually notice that there is no lower you can go.

Through the flames, you may see a ladder. It leads up towards

Tiryagyoni:

the fifth stage. You will leave behind the eternal darkness and fires.

The world opens to wild, untamed fields, where wind howls ceaselessly.

You are amongst the lawless animals, the roaming predators and prey.

Your only goal is to stay alive. Like a rabbit, huddling

with your colony for safety, you do not have the ability to survive

on your own like you once did. Like a solitary beast, growling with hunger,

you feed yourself with all the strength of your legs and claws. Slowly,

you are surviving. You will notice that you are eating, drinking,

as you did before all these hells corrupted your perception of the world.

With a flicker of clarity, you will reach the sixth stage,

Manushya:

where you will find, in a moment of déjà vu, that you are

human once more, and that you have been human this whole time.

The human mind, you discover, does not free you from suffering.

It is a ruthless god, bringing evil and pain into existence,

throwing you constantly back into the hells of your creation.

For as long as your soul clings onto its worldly attachments,

Samsara will continue endlessly like Ouroboros devouring its own tail.

In the twinkling cosmic dark, you may find meaning in this cycle, and

come to love in spite of the pain. I, who have suffered, choose to

love people and this world, even if my Samsara continues.

I hope I do not come to regret it much. Sometimes, though,

I wonder if my Ouroboros can one day slough its skin and

release its tight jaw. Perhaps it may fly away

untethered, like a feather, into the stars beyond.