Text 15]
The Hellish Planets
449
yaḥ —anyone who;  tu —but;  iha —in this life;  vai —indeed;  nija-veda-pathāt —from his own path, recommended by the  Vedas ;  anāpadi —even without an emergency;  apagataḥ —deviated;  pākhaṇḍam —a concocted, atheistic system;  ca —and;  upagataḥ —gone to;  tam —him;  asi-patravanam —the hell known as Asi-patravana;  praveśya —making enter;  kaśayā —with a whip;  praharanti —they beat;  tatra —there;  ha —certainly;  asau —that;  itaḥ tataḥ —here and there;  dhāvamānaḥ —running;  ubhayataḥ —on both sides;  dhāraiḥ —by the edges;  tāla-vana-asi-patraiḥ —by the swordlike leaves of palm trees;  chidyamāna —being cut;  sarva-aṅgaḥ —whose entire body;  hā —alas;  hataḥ —killed;  asmi —I am;  iti —thus;  paramayā —with severe;  vedanayā —pain;  mūrcchitaḥ —fainted;  pade pade —at every step;  nipatati —falls down;  sva-dharma-hā —the killer of his own principles of religion;  pākhaṇḍa-anugatam phalam —the result of accepting an atheistic path;  bhuṅkte —he suffers.
TRANSLATION
If a person deviates from the path of the Vedas in the absence of an emergency, the servants of Yamarāja put him into the hell called Asi-patravana, where they beat him with whips. When he runs hither and thither, fleeing from the extreme pain, on all sides he runs into palm trees with leaves like sharpened swords. Thus injured all over his body and fainting at every step, he cries out, “Oh, what shall I do now! How shall I be saved!” This is how one suffers who deviates from the accepted religious principles.
PURPORT
There is actually only one religious principle:  dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam . The only religious principle is to follow the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unfortunately, especially in this age of Kali, everyone is an atheist. People do not even believe in God. what to speak of following His words. The words  nija-veda-patha  can also mean “one’s own set of religious principles.” Formerly there was only one  veda-patha , or set of religious principles. Now there are many. It doesn’t matter which set of religious principles one follows: the only injunction is that he must follow them strictly. An atheist. or  nāstika , is