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The Six Paths of Pain is a Rinnegan technique that has been denoted as one of the strongest jutsu in the entire series. The sheer strength and unfathomable power that lies behind this technique is no secret as each path alone is capable of taking on hordes of shinobi, with the Deva Path single-handedly destroying the entire Hidden Leaf Village. With such significance attributed to this technique, it comes as no surprise that the Six Paths of Pain are rooted in real-world Buddhist mythology, reflecting the religion’s core concept of reincarnation.
According to Buddhist cosmology, the Six Paths are six different worlds where beings are reborn after death, with the reincarnation depending on the individual’s karma in their past life. The concept of reincarnation and karma aligns perfectly with the Rinnegan as most of its abilities are based on the samsara of life, with pain and suffering being at the core of Nagato’s vision for the world.
Deva Path
In Buddhist Mythology, the first three paths are known as the benevolent destinies, as beings whose karma was on the virtuous side are reborn into these bountiful realms. The Deva path represents gods or celestial beings and is one of the benevolent destinies, granted to those that were the most righteous in their previous lives. Those reborn in this realm are comparable to deities and have achieved the highest form of sentience.
This significance is accurately reflected in the series as the Deva Path is arguably the strongest out of the Six Paths of Pain, with powers comparable to a god’s. The Deva Path has the power of attraction and repulsion at its core, with most of its abilities reflecting this concept. Some of these god-like powers include Planetary Devastation and Almighty Push, both reflective of the divine inspiration that went into the Deva Path.
Asura Path
Asura is another one of the Six Paths’ benevolent destinies, though this path is not free from pain. The Asura realm contains warlike demigods, and those that were plagued by jealousy, contempt, and violence in their previous life are reincarnated here. These demigods share some characteristics with their Deva counterparts as they possess divine abilities known as Astra.
In the series, the Asura Path is technologically advanced and utilizes modern weaponry. These abilities reflect the Astra that demigods possess as such technology is unknown to the Naruto world, denoting missiles and rockets as powers that belong to a higher plane. The Asura Path's physical appearance is an accurate depiction of the Buddhist Asura, as these demigods have been described as possessing six arms and three faces.
Human Path
The last of the benevolent destinies, the Human or Manushya Path denotes the realm of humans. This path sits between the deities and animals, meaning humans possess soul, passion, and pride, yet they lack the carnal desires of the higher paths. This makes humans the most likely to attain enlightenment.
The Human Path in the series followed a somewhat similar narrative as this path was able to gain access to another person’s thoughts by simply touching their head and pulling out their soul. While the Human Path is the least attuned to combat, it's quite useful for interrogation and intelligence gathering.
Animal Path
The Animal or Tiryagyoni Path is one of the non-benevolent destinies as this realm has fear, survival, and instinct at its core. In Buddhist mythology, animals are considered to exist in a separate plane, at least mentally, thereby denoting an entirely different realm for animals in the cycle of reincarnation.
Almost all of the Animal Path’s abilities are rooted in this mythology as it can summon beast-like creatures of massive sizes, and that too without the need of summoning techniques. The animals summoned by this path are nothing like regular animals, indicating that they belong to an entirely separate realm of existence.
Preta Path
Those that were plagued by desire and possessiveness in their past lives are reincarnated in the Preta Path. Those reborn here possess ghastly features as they resemble humanoid creatures that have an insatiable appetite. This realm is also known as the world of the starving.
This mythology is accurately reflected in the series as the Preta Path has the ability to drain unlimited amounts of chakra from its opponents. This is linked to the Preta realms' insatiable thirst and hunger.
Naraka Path
The Naraka Path is known as the world of hell, and those that did not possess even a morsel of virtue in their past lives are reborn in this realm. Naraka is also the name of the underworld where these souls are punished and tormented as they atone for their sins.
In the series, the Naraka Path was never known for fighting as its expertise lied in interrogation and torture. The Naraka Path is capable of summoning the King of Hell, an entity that can heal the wounded, revive the dead, and rip the tongues of those that lie in its presence. The fearsome presence of this path is a true reflection of the Naraka Path’s dark mythology.