Yama – Dharmaraaya
Yama, the God of Justice
Yama, the son of the Sun-God, is the devathe whose task it is to mete out justice and just desserts. He is often depicted as dark-skinned and heavy, with a prominent moustache, carrying a mace in one hand and a noose in the other, riding a huge buffalo. As the God of Justice (dharma), he is also called Yama Dharmaraaja.
Yama, the God of Death
Yama is also the God of Death. At the end of life, it is his messengers who take away the soul leaving the lifeless body behind. It is believed that a quick check is done to see if the right soul has been taken and then the soul is returned to its former dwelling place, where it moves around for 13 human days. Numerous stories of dead persons coming to life on the way to their funeral, contribute to the veracity of this theory.
Yama is believed to appear in a colossal and terrible form if one has committed heinous acts. His messengers are said to assume fearsome forms at the time of death of sinners.
To those who have performed meritorious deeds, the messengers of death assume the forms of beloved deceased relatives or friends.
Yama, the Lord of Hell
That Yama keeps an account of the various deeds performed by a person during his life-time and throws sinners in hell, to be boiled in oil or to be poked by spears etc. is a popular belief. Whether such a hell really exists or is merely created to deter people from sinning is anybody’s guess.
As hell is commonly believed to belong to the nether regions, Yama is the ruler of the nether world and also the deity of the southern direction.
The defeat of Yama
The God of Death has been outwitted twice, by Markandeya and Savithri. Both these stories are quite well-known.
Markandeya, who was destined to die at 16, worshipped Shiva in order to live beyond 16. When he was about to complete 16 years of age, Yama arrived with his dreaded noose but Markandeya was absorbed in worship. In a stand-off between Shiva and Yama, Shiva is believed to have granted a boon to Markandeya that he remain sixteen forever thus, defeating death.
Savithri was a princess who wed Satyavan, an exiled prince, knowing fully well that he was destined to die within a year. When the fateful day arrived, Savithri insisted on accompanying Satyavan to the forest. Due to her piety and penance, she was able to see and talk to Yama, as he was carrying away the soul of Satyavan. Savithri engaged Yama in discussions about dharma. Yama was immensely pleased with her grit and intelligence and offered her various boons, except her husband’s life. Savithri asked for her father-in-law’s sight and kingdom to be restored to him. Then she cleverly asked for a boon of a hundred sons to be born to her, thereby compelling Yama to return the soul to Satyavan’s body!
Mahabhaaratha – The Vana Parva
Interestingly, both Markandeya and Savithri feature in the Vana Parva. During their exile, the Pandavas met numerous sages, one of whom was Markandeya. When Yudhishtira asked the sage if there was anyone equal to Droupadi in her devotion to her husband, Markandeya related the story of Savithri, and stated that she was Droupadi’s equal.
To be continued...