Yama
Yama, also known as Kāla and Dharmarāja, is the Hindu god of death and justice, responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Naraka. He is often identified with Dharmadeva, the personification of Dharma, though the two deities have different origins and myths.
In Vedic tradition, Yama was considered the first mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes; as a result, he became the ruler of the departed. His role, characteristics, and abode have been expounded in texts such as the Upanishads, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Puranas.
Yama is described as the twin of the goddess Yami, and the son of the god Surya and Sanjna. He judges the souls of the dead and, depending on their deeds, assigns them to the realm of the Pitris, Naraka, or to be reborn on the earth.
Yama is one of the Lokapalas, appointed as the protector of the south direction. He is often depicted as a dark-complexioned man riding a buffalo and carrying a noose or mace to capture souls.
Yama was subsequently adopted by Buddhist, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean, and Japanese mythology as the king of hell. In modern culture, Yama has been depicted in various safety campaigns in India.
Etymology and epithets
The word "Yama" means 'twin', and later came to mean 'binder' ; the word also means 'moral rule or duty', 'self-control', 'forbearance', and 'cessation'.Yama is also known by many other names, including Kala, Pashi and Dharmaraja.
Identification with [|Dharmadeva]
Yama and Dharmadeva, the god personifying the concept of Dharma, are generally considered to be one and the same person. Author Vettam Mani speculates a reason for this identification:Mani believes that Yama and Dharmadeva are two different deities, citing that the Puranic scriptures depict at least two different legends about the deities —
- Yama is the judge of the dead, while Dharmadeva is one of the Prajapatis.
- Yama is the son of sun god Surya and his wife Sanjna, while Dharmadeva is born from the chest of the god Brahma.
- Yama is married to Dhumorna. On the other hand, Dharmadeva is married to ten or thirteen daughters of Daksha.
- Yama has a daughter Sunita. Dharmadeva fathered many sons from his wives. He also fathered Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandavas.
Iconography
Literature
Vedas
In the Rigveda, Yama is the son of a solar deity Vivasvat and Saraṇyū and has a twin sister named Yamī. He is cognate to the Avestan Yima, son of Vīvanhvant. The majority of Yama's appearances are in the first and tenth book. Yama is closely associated with Agni in the Rigveda. Agni is both Yama's friend and priest, and Yama is stated to have found the hiding Agni. In the Rigveda, Yama is the king of the dead, and one of the two kings that humans see when they reach heaven. Yama is stated to be a gatherer of the people, who gave dead people a place to rest. Out of the three Rigvedic heavens, the third and highest belong to Yama. Here is where the gods resides, and Yama is surrounded by music. In the ritual sacrifice, Yama is offered soma and ghee, and is invoked to sit at the sacrifice, lead the sacrificers to the abode of the gods, and provide long life.In the dialogue hymn between Yama and Yamī, as the first two humans, Yamī tries to convince her twin brother Yama to have sex with her. Yamī makes a variety of arguments, including continuing the mortal line, that Tvashtar created them as a couple in the womb, and that Dyaush and Prithvi are famous for their incest. Yama argues that their ancestors, "the Gandharva in the waters and the watery maiden", as a reason not to commit incest, that Mitra-Varuna are strict in their ordinances, and that they have spies everywhere. By the end of the hymn, Yamī becomes frustrated but Yama remains firm in his stance. However, by RV 10.13.4, Yama is stated to have chosen to leave offspring, but Yamī is not mentioned.
Vedic literature states that Yama is the first mortal, and that he chose to die, and then proceeded to create a path to the "other world", where deceased ancestral fathers reside. Due to being the first man to die, he is considered the chief of the dead, lord of settlers, and a father. Throughout the course of Vedic literature, Yama becomes more and more associated with the negative aspects of death and eventually becomes the god of death. He also becomes associated with Antaka, Mṛtyu, Nirṛti, and Sleep.
Yama has two four-eyed, broad nosed, brindled, reddish-brown dogs, Sharvara and Shyama, who are the sons of Saramā. However, in the Atharvaveda, one of dogs is brindled and the other is dark. The dogs are meant to track down those who are about to die, and guard the path to Yama's realm. Scholars who adhere to Theodor Aufrecht's interpretation of RV 7.55 state that the dogs were also meant to keep wicked men out of heaven.
The Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā states Yama and his twin sister Yamī both reside in the highest heaven. The Atharvaveda states Yama is unsurpassable and is greater than Vivasvat.
The Taittirīya Aranyaka and the Āpastamba Śrauta state that Yama has golden-eyed and iron-hoofed horses.
Upanishads
In the Katha Upanishad, Yama is portrayed as a teacher to the Brahmin boy Nachiketa. Having granted three boons to Nachiketa, their conversation evolves to a discussion of the nature of being, knowledge, the Atman and moksha. From the translation by Brahmrishi Vishvatma Bawra:Mahabharata
In the epic Mahabharata, Dharmadeva is the father of Yudhishthira, the oldest brother of the five Pandavas. Yama most notably appears in person in the Yaksha Prashna and the Vana Parva, and is mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita.Yaksha Prashna
In the Yaksha Prashna, Dharmadeva appears as a yaksha in the form of a crane to question Yudhishthira and test his righteousness. Impressed by Yudhishthira's strict adherence to dharma and his answers to the riddles posed, Yama reveals himself as his father, blesses him, and brings his younger Pandava brothers back to life.Vana Parva
In the Vana Parva, when Yudhishthira asks the sage Markandeya whether there has ever been a woman whose devotion matched Draupadi's, the sage replied by relating the story of Savitri and Satyavan. After Savitri's husband Satyavan died, Yama arrived to carry away his soul. However, Yama was so impressed with Savitri's purity and dedication to dharma and to her husband, he was convinced to instead bring Satyavan back to life.;Tirtha-Yatra Parva
In the Tirtha-yatra Parva, Lomasa tells Yudhishthira "in days of yore, there was a terrible time in the Satya Yuga when the eternal and primeval Deity assumed the duties of Yama. And, O thou that never fallest off, when the God of gods began to perform the functions of Yama, there died not a creature while the births were as usual."
This led to an increase in the population and the Earth sinking down "for a hundred yojanas. And suffering pain in all her limbs." The earth sought the protection of Narayana, who incarnated as a boar and lifted her back up.
Udyoga Parva
In the Udyoga Parva, it is stated that the wife of Yama is called Urmila or Dhumorna.Bhagavad Gita
In the Bhagavad Gita, part of the Mahabharata, Krishna states:Puranas
Yama and his abode are frequently mentioned in the Puranas. Some Puranas like Agni Purana and Linga Purana mention him as son of Rajni and Surya.Bhagavata Purana / Srimad Bhagavatam
Third and Fourth Canto
In the third and fourth cantos of the Srimad Bhagavatam, Yama was incarnated as a shudra called Vidura due to being cursed by a sage for being too harsh in his punishments. From the A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada / Bhaktivedanta Book Trust translation:Vidura, a devotee of Krishna, is the main protagonist in the third canto. In this canto, after being thrown out of his home by King Dhritarashtra for admonishing the Kauravas' ignoble behaviour towards the Pandavas, Vidura went on a pilgrimage where he met other devotees of Krishna such as Uddhava and the sage Maitreya, the latter of whom revealed Vidura's true origin to him:
Krishna also states Yama punishes sinners, as relayed to Vidura by Maitreya during their conversation about the origin and creation of the multiverse:
A detailed account of the punishment of a sinner upon their death is also provided, beginning with their seizure and journey to Yamaloka :
Sixth Canto
In the sixth canto, Yama instructs his messengers, the Yamadutas, when questioned about who has supreme authority in the universe since there are so many gods and demigods:Tenth Canto
In the tenth canto, Krishna and Balarama travel to Yama's abode to bring back the dead son of their Guru, Sandipani Muni:Brahma Purana
In the Brahma Purana, Yama is the lord of justice and is associated with Dharma. Mentions include:- Chapter 2.29–30: Yama has a daughter called Sunita and a grandson called Vena, who turned his back on dharma
- Chapter 20: The various hells of Yama are described along with their concomitant sins
- Chapter 30.64–68: Yama chastises his mother for cursing him
- Chapter 35.11: Yama is destroyed by Shiva after coming to claim the soul of Markandeya
- Chapter 48.4: Krishna describes himself as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra, and Yama
- Chapter 105: Descriptions of the "terrible servants of Yama" are given
- Chapter 126.42.50: Descriptions of the agony of death for sinners including being caught by Yama with His noose, and the tortures suffered in His abode
- Chapter 24 : Yama is killed in battle by Karttikeya; on Shiva's orders, Yama is revived by Nandi.
Garuda Purana
Matsya Purana
In the Matsya Purana, In addition to his battles against the asuras, Yama is mentioned extensively:- Chapter XI: Yama as boy is cursed
- Chapter XLIX: Yama fights Janamejaya in Hell and after being captured, gives him knowledge of emancipation
- Chapter XCIII: Yama is declared to be of Saturn
- Chapter CII: Synonyms of Yama are given
- Chapter CCXLVIII: Yama – like others – is controlled by Vishnu
- Chapter CCLIII: Yama is 13th of the 32 Devas
Vishnu Purana
Marriage and children
Varying information about Yama's consorts and children are found in Hindu texts. The Mahābhārata, the Vishnu Purana and the Vishnudharmottara describe Dhumorna as his consort. In the Garuda Purana, Syamala is the name of Yama's wife. According to some other texts, Yama has three consorts—Hema-mala, Sushila and Vijaya. When identified with Dharmadeva, he also married 10 or 13 daughters of the god Daksha.According to the Brahma Purana, the name of Yama's eldest daughter is Sunita, who is the mother of the king Vena. Sobhavati, the wife of Chitragupta, is sometimes mentioned to be Yama's daughter. In the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava, was blessed by Dharma to his mother Kunti.
Worship
is a Hindu temple located at Thiruchitrambalam in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is dedicated to Yama.In other religions
Mentioned in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism, Yama subsequently entered Buddhist mythology in East Asia, Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka as a Dharmapala. He is also recognized in Sikhism.In popular culture
In addition to his depiction in movie and television adaptations of scriptures such as in the television series, Yama has also been depicted in road safety campaigns in India, particularly to warn against the dangers of riding motorcycles without helmets.Dharma Raja has been depicted as a character in "The Star-Touched Queen" and "A Crown of Wishes" by Roshani Chokshi.