In order to understand the reality of the geographical situation of the Underworld one has to first see, and believe in the existence of a landmass which Ptolemy has set in his peripheral map of the ‘inhabited world’ that he calls Jambudvipa.

This Underworld basically was a dark region and its description is found in most of the puranic literature. This region has been best mentioned in the epic Gilgamesh.

In the Homeric epics, the journey of Ulysses is seen to have covered this region like Gilgamesh’ journey to Island of Blest.

Hade of Homeric epics is same as Jerusalem of the Bible. In the Bible, Hade is described as ‘Abode of the ‘Dead’ but Commentators see it as Hell. It is an incorrect perception on the meaning of the ‘hell’ even though hell is seen as a place of torture and pain. Place of hell is also the Seat of Worship of God Yama, the King of Death.

In puranic as well as in the biblical concept, ‘abode of the dead’ is indicative of the place of relics of the ancestors and also place of relics of ancient Sages, and Kings. It identifies the place where annual rituals were conducted in the memory of the ancestors and their bone relics(Hada of Odiya language) were worshipped with food offerings in a particular period of the year.

Bibles gives a true picture of the Underworld which is historical in nature; it finds Sheol within it along with Jerusalem, Bethany and Benjamin etc. and it says that it was a place of no return. When this place identifies itself with Hebrew mwt means ‘death’(mrutyu in Odiya language), it identifies the God Yama of Indian puranas, In puranic literature, the place of this God of Death is recognised through different names like, Sanjamanipura, Sonitapura(means ‘rakta’ or blood), and Salmali island.

The covenant of death also marks the presence of a volcano in this region; it was a place that put others under a royal decree into prison. So it was both a sacred place of tombs as well as a seat of worship though it has been said as a painful region of perpetual darkness and disadvantage. Rachel’s Tomb exists in Sheol only.

Indian puranas makes fourteen division of the inhabited world; and put seven of them under the region of the Underworld, or the region under darkness. Mention is being made on the names of the seven places of the Underworld and they are : Atala, Sutala, Bitala, Garbhasthala, Mahatala, Sritala, and Patala. And all the seven places are found in the Bible in one or in different name-forms.

The Vayu purana describes the names of the inhabitants of each of the seven places in detail.