Hindu afterlife is a vital concept in Hindu philosophy. According to the Hinduism, when an individual dies, s/he goes either to Swarga (heaven) or Naraka (hell). The heaven is constituted with deities, sages and pure souls. It is a place where pleasures are all around. On the other hand, hell is a place where people go, if they have committed sins in their lives. It is a place where pain is everywhere.

According to the scriptures found in Hinduism (Hindu Shastra), souls are immortal and eternal. Thus there are rebirth and soul reincarnation. This is where the concept of Hindu afterlife comes. A soul belongs to Jiva (life). This is limited with its own impurities of attachment, illusion and karmic law. Therefore, death is not the end of life, but a resting phase and a moment of preparation to continue the journey.

In Hinduism, there is no permanency for life or afterlife, unless the soul is liberated or getting moksha. These phenomenons are nothing but the segment of majestic illusion. Death can be explained as a temporary cessation of normal physical activity and a period for preparing the necessary resources to continue further journey. Each time the life experienced in this materialistic world offers the opportunity to gather knowledge or wisdom to manifest Samaskara, which determines the Karmic cycle in each life, while controlling the quality of life in each cycle.

According to Bhagavad-Gita, during afterlife soul travels along either of two ways. One way is governed by the presence of Sun, which characterizes the path of illumination or the path of Gods. On the other hand, the other way is governed by the presence of moon, which characterizes the path of darkness or the path of predecessors. When the soul travels along the path of Sun, it never returns back. On the other hand, the soul travels along the path of moon, returns back once again.

In Hinduism, it is believed that there are a multitude of heavens and hells and a soul can exist in any plane during the afterlife depending on its acquired Samaskara before it comes back again to experience another life cycle in the materialistic life. Hindu philosophy does not take a unanimous account on what happens to soul during its afterlife just it leaves the materialistic plane. Saivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism offer their own unique perspective in this regard based on their individual religious belief.