greentrees: One of the greatest things about the Sanatana Dharma is its vastness. On questions like this, you will get a great number of views. I truly appreciate the last sentence in Vara's statement, pointing out which point of view it is. Often people speak opinion as if it were fact.
So in the end you have to ask yourself the question, :Which of these is closest to what I already think?" Or if you have no thoughts on the subject, "Which makes the most sense to me?" This is all self-inquiry which is a basic tenet in Hinduism, all branches of it, another beautiful thing.
So now I give you my point of view, which is from my own gut, and influenced by Saiva Siddhantam. Firstly there is no hell. There are hellish states of mind, but no hell. Hell is pretty much a western construct. After death we go to the astral plane, second world, or loka. Depending on how we lived this life, and in past lives, we go to a clear place, or a foggy place. In other words, the closer we are to Self-realisation, and moksha, the clearer it will be. What I mean by clear is the depth or 'thickness' ofveils between the worlds. The further we are on the path, the more control we have of our destiny, and of our next birth. So if we have prayed hard, and lived a pure devout life, we may even get to CHOOSE the family we want to be born into.
Aum Namasivaya