Yama — Regent of the South

Yama — Regent of the South 

Yama (the Binder) is the god of death, the sovereign of the infernal regions. The wrathful one, who judges the dead, whom his messengers drag before his throne. He is the embodiment of righteousness (Dharma) and the king- of-justice (dharma-rāja). He is, however, compassionate.

In the Vedas, Yama is the First Ancestor and the king-of- Ancestors (pitṛi-rāja). He rules over the kingdom of the dead where the Ancestors dwell. He is also the king-of- ghosts (preta-rāja).

The word yama means "binder, restrainer." It is Yama who keeps humankind in check. "He binds, he decides what are the actions of the living beings that bear or do not bear fruit"

Yama is punishment (daṇḍa), the Eternal Law on which the universe rests. He is Death (Mṛtyu) and the End (Antaka), Time (Kāla), the Finisher (Kṛtānta), the Settler (Śamana). As the ruler of the southern direction, Yama is called lord of the south (Dakṣiṇā-pati).

Yama is the son of the resplendent Sun god —Vivasvat (Rig Veda 10.14.5), the embodiment of social morality represented as one of the aspects of the Sun and envisaged as the progenitor of humankind.

Yama's brother is the Lawgiver, Manu, who shares with him the title of progenitor of humankind.

Yama's twin sister is Yamī, who loves him passionately, though he is sometimes said to have resisted physical union with her (ibid. R.V.10.10).

After his death she mourned him so bitterly that the gods created Night (Yāminī) to make her forget. Yamī later appeared on the earth as the river Yamunā.

Yama married ten of the daughters of Ritual-Skill (Dakṣa), who are the powers born of the ritual sacrifice. Some texts state that his two beloved consorts are shroud-of-smoke (Dhūmorṇā) that rises from the funeral pyre and Victory (Vijayā.)

Yama is sometimes shown with another 2 wives, — Golden-Garland (Hema-mālā), Good-Behaviour (Suśīla).

Yama's city is the City-of-Bondage (Samyamini). Manifold-Secret (Citra-gupta) is his scribe. His ministers are Wrath (Caṇḍa) and Terror (Mahācaṇḍa). Yama's charioteer is Sickness (Roga). He is surrounded with demons who are personifications of the different diseases.

But there are also many sages and kings who assemble in his court to pay him homage. Musicians and heavenly dancers charm his visitors. At the door of the judgment hall is a guard called Legality (Vaidhyata).

Yama owns two four-eyed dogs with wide nostrils, who were born to the Fleet-One (Sārama), the bitch who guards the herds of Indra. They watch the path of the dead.

Symbols

Yama is of dark green complexion with glowing red eyes. He dresses in blood red garments. His hair is tied on the top of his head and he wears a glittering crown. In many stories he’s described as a handsome man.

The virtuous and the sinners see Yama in different forms. To the virtuous he appears beautiful and compassionate like Viṣṇu. To the sinner he appears wrathful and terrifying.

He holds a pāśa (noose) and a daṇḍa (staff), and also carries an paraśu (axe), a khaḍga (sword), and a dagger. He rides a black buffalo and sometimes appears himself in the form of a buffalo. The buffalo being the symbol of Tamas —darkness, inertia, ignorance.