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Yama Loka is the abode of Lord Yama, the god of death in Hinduism. It is not equivalent to the concept of Hell in Christianity and other religions, as Yama is also Dharmaraja or God of justice and it is a temperory purgatorium for sinners or papis. It is believed in Hindu mythology that Yama's divine assistant Lord Chitragupta maintains the individual deeds of each and every person in the world, and based on the some total of his deeds dispatches the soul of the deceased is either sent to Svarga (Heaven) or the various Narakas according to the nature of their sins. For example, conversion to Baashaanda religions (non-vedic, incl. Buddhism, Jainism, Atheism (Naastikavada) and alien religions including Christianity, Islam, etc..,) would fetch Adopatram, (Sanskrit:inverted leaf) where the sinner would be dragged with leaves with spines by the attendants of Yama (called Yama kinnaras) until their sins are cleansed. In some cases, the mythology describes that even people who have done a majority of good deeds could come to Yama Loka for the redemption for the small sins they have committed, and once the punishments have been served for those sins they could be sent for rebirth or to heaven. In the epic of Mahabharata, even the Pandavas (who represent the righteousness and virtuousness) had to spend a brief time the hell, for their small sins.
