At the end of the Fifth Chapter, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī has given description of the hellish planets. You have seen in the sky, there are millions and millions of stars or planets, and they are divided into three groups. Everything is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So as it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). (break) . . . sattva-sthāḥ, meaning that those who are in the sattva-guṇa, modes of goodness, they are promoted to the higher planetary system. Madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasaḥ: "Those who are under the influence of passion, they remain in the middle planetary system." And those who are in the lowest grade of tamo-guṇa, adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja, after hearing the pitiable condition of persons in the hellish planets, he became sympathetic. Therefore he is putting the statement before Śukadeva Gosvāmī, adhuneha mahā-bhāga yathaiva narakān naraḥ (SB 6.1.6): "My dear sir, you have described about the hellish condition of the suffering persons. Now kindly give me any enlightenment how they can be delivered."
This is the symptom of a Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava cannot tolerate the sufferings of the humanity. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja, he said before Nṛsiṁha-deva, naitad udvije paro duratyaya-vaitaraṇyāḥ: "My dear Lord, I have no problem how to get delivered from this material world." Because a devotee is already on the transcendental platform. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā,
- māṁ ca vyabhicāriṇi
- bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate
- sa guṇān samatītyaitān
- brahma-bhūyā . . .
- (BG 14.26)
Means, anyone who is engaged in devotional service, he is already on the Brahman platform. Therefore a devotee means he is already in the Brahman platform, or spiritual platform. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja became very anxious, how this suffering humanity can be saved. Here it is said, nānā ugra yātanāt neyāt tan me vyākhyātum arhasi: "Kindly give me some enlightenment how these people can be saved from this severe type of suffering."
So at the present moment in this age of Kali people are so fallen low, that they do not know what is going to happen in the future. They are dismissing the whole problem by saying that there is no next life. This is very precarious condition of the modern civilization. So as there are comfortable life, we can see there are discomfortable life also. So there is understanding of pāpa and puṇya. Especially in the human form of life one should know what is pāpa and what is puṇya. The human life is responsible life. You have got practical experience that if you violate the law of the state you become criminal and punished. But if the cats and dogs or animals, they violate the law, they are not punishable. Therefore human life must be very responsible. Yes.
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, "My dear king, if before one's next death whatever impious acts one has performed in this life with his mind, words and body are not counteracted through proper atonement according to the description of the Manu-saṁhitā and other dharma-śāstras, one will certainly enter into the hellish planets after death and undergo terrible sufferings as I have previously described (SB 6.1.7)."