YAMA - GOD OF DEATH

Yama in Rg Veda is a different personality from Yama of the Puranas. Vedic Yama was the first Man who died, pioneering the pathway beyond. He is not directly descended from Kasyapa and Aditi; his genealogy is “Vishnu>Brahma>Marichi>Kasyapa>Surya> Yama. Surya married Samjna, daughter of Viswakarma the First Architect. Yama’s siblings were Manu, from whom humans were born, and Yami, Yama’s twin sister.

One of the most dramatic episodes is in the 10^th Mandala (Book) of Rg Veda - Yami expresses her insistent desire to share Yama’s bed. Yama protests and pleads the impropriety and sin of incest. Yami has her way, and they wed. Because he keeps track of the time beings may spend in the world of the living, he got another name, “Kaala” = Time. Vishnu Purana relates that, once, Samjna had retired to the forest for rest, entrusting her maid Chhaaya (literally “shadow”) to minister to Surya. Through her Surya begat Sani, Tapati and another Manu. When Chhaaya berated Yama for misdemeanour, the secret that she was impersonating Samjna was revealed. Surya begat twins Aswini, son Revata and daughter Bhaya through the recovered Samjna. Brahma the Creator established Yama as Lord of the South, along with Indra in the East, Varuna in the West, and Kubera in the North. He presides over the world of the dead, and especially, hell (“narakam”). The souls of the dead are brought to his court, where his infallible accountant, Chitragupta, audits the balance sheet of good and bad that each had wrought during life; Yama decides on the appropriate punishment. He is dark, red, or green in colour, and usually dressed in red. He rides a buffalo and is armed with a lasso of rope, with which he whisks off the souls of those who are to die.

The god of death was himself killed by Siva. The story of Markandeya is well known. Briefly, the boy was born with a pre-determined life span of only sixteen years. Yama duly went off to claim him, but the boy took refuge, hugging a Sivalinga. Yama, ignoring this, cast his lasso, and when he dragged on it, the Sivalinga broke. Siva, irate at this insult, promptly burnt Yama with a flash from his third eye. The consequences were disastrous; nobody died in the world, and the population, especially of the old and the decrepit, cluttered the earth. Finally, Siva had to revive Yama. A similar story, with Vishnu as the Executioner, is told; he had to incarnate himself as the Boar in order to recover the Earth and of course revive Yama. The story of Satyavan and Savitri is the subject of the great epic by Aurobindo Ghosh. It shows that even death is not the end; love triumphs over it. Yama has a human heart, after all!

The Puranas give a detailed catalogue of the hells under Yama.

SlNo	Name of theHell	Punishment for
1	Thaamisram	Stealing wealth, wives, etc., of others. The guilty beaten with sticks until they faint; when they recover, the punishment is repeated, until the sin is atoned for.
2	Andhathamisram	Wives cheating husbands and vice versa. They are strangulated until they faint; then revived and punishment repeated.
3	Rauravam	For cruelty to animals including humans. The guilty are pushed in among poisonous serpants which frighten them without respite, but do not bite them.
4	Maharauravam	For cheating on property and illegal enjoyment of it. Punishment same as in Rauravam, but with more ferocious serpants which twine around the guilty.
5	Kumbhiipaakam	For killing animals. The guilty are fried in oil, for as many years as the sum of the hairs of all the animals, birds, etc., they had killed.
6	Kalasutram	A terribly hot place, where those who had not adequately served their elders, gurus, and superiors are kept until they faint; when the recover, punishment repeated.
7	Asitapatram	Those who have violated the norms of their caste, and encroached on privileges of other castes, are chastised with poisoned wands, revived when they faint, and punishment repeated.
8	Sukaramukham	For kings who do not rule according to the tenets, especially regarding the rights of the various castes. Crushed between rollers, revived, and punishment repeated.
10	Andhakuupam	A dark pit, where those who had harmed Brahmins, gods, and sages. The souls are tortured by cruel animals, birds, insects, etc.
11	Samdamsanam	Those who neglect performance of propitiation of gods, Brahmins, etc., are thrust here. Insects feed on them until their body is consumed; then, they are fitted out with fresh bodies, and punishment repeated.

12	Taptamurti	A hell made of iron sheets that get red hot from the fires in it; those who committed robbery are punished here with fire.
13	Salmali	Men and women who had had sex with partners with whom it is prohibited. Each is made to embrace a red-hot iron statue of erstwhile paramours.
14	Vajrakandakasali	Those guilty of bestiality are forced to embrace replicas fitted out with sharp blades along the orifices.
15	Vaitarani	Those who seduce other people’s wives are kept in a river, polluted with all sorts of wastes, and infested with insects and microbes. They have to eat and drink what they get out of the pollution.
16	Puyodakam	Similar to the above, but a stagnant well. Reserved for higher caste individuals who have sex with lower caste mates, and for those who neglect their wives and families.
17	Pranarodham	Brahmins who have indulged in hunting animals are hit with arrows, severing their limbs, while the torturers laugh at their antics.
18	Visasanam	Those who sacrifice animals at expensive rituals just to show off their wealth are beaten with whips, endlessly..
19	Laalaabhaksham	Those who indulge in unnatural sex, especially oral intercourse, have to be here, constantly on an exclusive diet of ejaculates.
20	Saarameyashanam	Dogs tear those who have indulged in incendiarism, destruction of public property, violence against other.
21	Avichi	Those guilty of perjury, bearing false witness, and pretending to false worship are cast from a high mountain into rough waves, so that their bodies are torn apart.
22	Aayapaanam	Brahmins who indulge in intoxicating drinks are forced here, and made to drink molten iron.
23	Kshaarakardamom	Those who have abused Brahmins and insulted them are hung head downwards, while they are severely beaten.
24	Rakshobhaksam	Those who have killed animals are cast, in this hell, among them, and bitten, scratched, and otherwise punished by them
25	Sulaprotam	Those who have manoeuvred the conviction and punishment of others by bearing false witness against them are thrown into this hell, to be impaled on spears.
26	Dantasukam	Those who have inflicted pain on animals are cast here, where corresponding animals inflict corresponding pain on them.
27	Vatorodham	Those who have tortured and killed animals in mountains, forests, etc. are punished with the same sort of torture in this hell.
28	Paryavarthanukam	If one has avoided or insulted a guest, out of greed, then he is cast here, where crows and other birds of prey tear out his eyes.
29	Suchimukham	Those who default on loan repayment are here punished with infinity of pinpricks.

The list illustrates that imaginative Brahmins, who had, surprisingly, great kindness towards animals, created it. The tortures in the Hindu hell seem mild in comparison with what human ingenuity could accomplish during the Inquisition in Christendom.