Hell 2 of 7
Śarkarāprabhā
शर्कराप्रभा
The gravel earth. Every measure worsens and the numbers thin out.
Heat is the whole of the experience in the first three earths, and the texts insist that a lump of iron dropped into it would vaporise before it landed.
The minimum lifespan here is the maximum of the earth above. The two figures interlock all the way down, so the seven earths form one unbroken scale from ten thousand years to thirty-three sāgaropama.
Its proper name is Vaṃśā; Śarkarāprabhā is the descriptive one, naming what the earth is made of or looks like. It holds 11 storeys of hells stacked one below another.
Measurements and counts
| Position | 2nd earth down |
|---|---|
| Proper name | Vaṃśā |
| Thickness | 1,32,000 yojana |
| Hells in it | 25,00,000 |
| Storeys | 11 |
| Shortest life | 1 sāgaropama |
| Longest life | 3 sāgaropama |
| Leśyā | kāpota — dove grey |