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 (the other being
Varuna). 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 (the lower two belong to
Savitr). 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. 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 (the Ender), Mṛtyu (Death), Nirṛti (Decease), and Sleep. From the translation by Brahmrishi Vishvatma Bawra:
Mahabharata In the epic
Mahabharata, Dharmadeva (who is identified with Yama) is the father of
Yudhishthira, the oldest brother of the five
Pandavas.
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 (BBT) 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 (his older half-brother) 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 (again, an incarnation of Yama) 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 (
i.e. Hell):
Sixth Canto In the sixth canto, Yama (not as
Vidura nor with
Aryama in the post; see third and fourth canto) 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 (to his father) •
Chapter 35.11: Yama is destroyed by Shiva after coming to claim the soul of
Markandeya (and at the behest of the Gods is revived afterwards) •
Chapter 48.4: Krishna describes himself as
Brahma,
Vishnu,
Shiva,
Indra, and Yama ("I am Yama who restrains the universe.") •
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 (book 4): Yama is killed in battle by
Karttikeya; on
Shiva's orders, Yama is revived by Nandi.
Garuda Purana In the
Garuda Purana, Yama and his realm where sinners are punished are detailed extensively, including in the twelfth chapter called
The Realm of Yama. In this text, the name of Yama's wife is Syamala.
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 (
Dharmaraja, Mrityo, Antaka, Vaivaswata,
Kala, Sarvabhutaksaya, Audumbara, Dadhna, Nila, Paramesthi, Vrikodara, Chitra, and
Chitragupta) •
Chapter CCXLVIII: Yama – like others – is controlled by
Vishnu •
Chapter CCLIII: Yama is 13th of the 32 Devas
Vishnu Purana In the
Vishnu Purana, Yama is the son of sun-god
Surya (named
Vivasvan in the Vedas, also means 'sun') and Sandhya (named
Saranya in the Vedas, is another name), the daughter of
Vishvakarma (named
Tvastar in the Vedas) emerged from the navel of
Vishvakarman. During a conversation with his servant, Yama states that he is subordinate to Vishnu. While establishing the relationship between Vishnu and Lakshmi, the Chapter 8 of Book 1 describes Dhumorna as Yama's consort.
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 (also known as Urmila) 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. 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 ==