Text 24
yojanānāṁ sahasrāṇi
navatiṁ nava cādhvanaḥ
tribhir muhūrtair dvābhyāṁ vā
nītaḥ prāpnoti yātanāḥ
yojanānām — of yojanas; sahasrāṇi — thousands; navatim — ninety; nava — nine; ca — and; adhvanaḥ — from a distance; tribhiḥ — three; muhūrtaiḥ — within moments; dvābhyām — two; vā — or; nītaḥ — brought; prāpnoti — he receives; yātanāḥ — punishments.
Thus he has to pass ninety-nine thousand yojanas within two or three moments, and then he is at once engaged in the torturous punishment which he is destined to suffer.
One yojana is calculated to be eight miles, and he has to pass along a road which is therefore as much as 792,000 miles. Such a long distance is passed over within a few moments only. The subtle body is covered by the constables so that the living entity can pass such a long distance quickly and at the same time tolerate the suffering. This covering, although material, is of such fine elements that material scientists cannot discover what the coverings are made of. To pass 792,000 miles within a few moments seems wonderful to the modern space travelers. They have so far traveled at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour, but here we see that a criminal passes 792,000 miles within a few seconds only, although the process is not spiritual but material.