Yama
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2008-07-15T15:59:18Z
Xenocidic
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/Pink!Teen|Pink!Teen]] ([[User talk:Pink!Teen|talk]]) to last version by Jonathan Cardy
{{three other uses|the deity '''Yama'''|'''yama''' in the sense of a code of conduct|Yamas|the '''Yamá''' language|Mobilian Jargon|the village in Burkina Faso|Yama, Burkina Faso}}
[[Image:Yama's Court and Hell.jpg|thumb|250px|Yama's Court and Hell.The Blue figure is Yama with his consort [[Yami]] and [[Chitragupta]] <br /> 17th century Painting from Government Museum, [[Chennai]] ]]
'''Yama''' ([[Sanskrit]]: यम), also known as '''Yamarāja (यमराज)''' in India, '''Yanluowang''' (閻羅王) or simply '''Yan''' (閻) in China, and '''[[Enma|Enma Dai-Ō]]''' ({{lang|ja|閻魔大王}}) in Japan, is the lord of [[death]], first recorded in the [[Veda]]s. The name ''Yanluo'' is a shortened Chinese [[transliteration]] of the [[Sanskrit]] term Yama Rājā, or "King Yama". ''Enma Dai-Ō'' is a further transliteration, meaning "Great King Yama", where ''Enma'' means ''Yama'', ''Enma-Ō'' means ''Yama Rājā'' and ''Enma Dai-Ō'' would be equivalent to ''Yama Mahārāja''.
Yama belongs to an early stratum of [[Rigvedic deities|Vedic mythology]]. In Vedic tradition Yama was considered to have been the first mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes, and in virtue of precedence he became the ruler of the departed. Yama's name can be interpreted to mean "twin", and in some myths he is paired with a twin sister '''[[Yami|Yamī]]'''.
==Eastern religion==
===Yama in Hinduism===
{{Main|Yama (Hinduism)}}
[[Image:Yama tibet.jpg|thumb|200px|Yama from Tibet]]
Yama is a [[Guardians of the directions#Lokapālas|Lokapāla]] and an [[Aditya]]. In [[art]], he is depicted with [[green]] or [[red]] [[skin]], red clothes, and riding a [[Domestic Asian Water Buffalo|water buffalo]]. He holds a loop of [[rope]] in his left hand with which he pulls the soul from the corpse. He is the son of [[Surya]] (Sun) and twin brother of [[Yami]], or [[Yamuna]], traditionally the first [[human]] pair in the Vedas. He was also [[worship]]ed as a son of [[Vivasvat]] and [[Saranya]]. He is one of the [[Guardians of the directions]] and represents the south. He reports to Lord [[Shiva]] the Destroyer, an aspect of [[Trimurti]]. Three hymns (10, 14, and 35) in the [[Rig Veda]] Book 10 are addressed to him.
There is a one of a kind temple in [[Srivanchiyam]], Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to Yama.
===Yama in Buddhism and Chinese mythology===
{{Main|Yama (Buddhism and Chinese mythology)}}
The Vedic Yama, with certain changes of function, was the basis for the Buddhist [[Yama (Buddhism and Chinese mythology)|Yama]], judge of the dead, who presides over the Buddhist Hells. The Buddhist Yama became an integral part of [[Chinese mythology|Chinese]] and [[Japanese mythology]]. Although ultimately based on the god [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]] of the Hindu [[Veda]]s, the Buddhist Yama has developed different myths and different functions from the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] deity.
==Yama's abode==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Yamas big.jpg|250px|right|thumb|A modern depiction of Yamaraja's Court, by Dominique Amendola]] -->
===Naraka (Hindu)===
:''Main article: [[Naraka|Naraka (Hinduism)]]''
Naraka in [[Hinduism]], is compared to the Abrahamic concept of [[Hell]]. However, Naraka in Hinduism is not equivalent to Hell in Christian faith. Naraka is only a purgatory where the soul gets purified of sin by sufferings. In Hindu myth, there are many hells, and [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]], Lord of Justice, sends human beings after death for appropriate punishment. Such punishment can be in boiling oil, etc. Even [[Mukti-yogyas]] (souls eligible for mukti or moksha), and [[Nitya-samsarins]] (forever transmigrating ones in [[Dvaita]] theology) can experience Naraka for expiation.
===Naraka (Buddhist)===
{{main|Naraka (Buddhism)}}
[[Naraka (Buddhism)|Naraka]] is usually translated into English as "[[hell]]" or "[[purgatory]]". A Naraka differs from the hells of western religions in two respects. First, beings are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment and punishment; second, the length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually very long. Instead, a being is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her previous [[karma]] (actions of body, speech and mind), and resides there for a finite length of time until his karma has achieved its full result.
===Di Yu (Chinese mythology) and Jigoku (Japanese mythology)===
:''Main article: [[Di Yu|Di Yu and Jigoku]]''
[[Chinese language|Chinese]] Di Yu, [[Japanese language|Japanese]] Jigoku, literally "earth prison", is the realm of the dead or "[[hell]]" in [[Chinese mythology]] and [[Japanese mythology]]. It is based upon the Buddhist concept of [[Naraka (Buddhism)|Naraka]] combined with local afterlife beliefs. Incorporating ideas from [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]] as well as traditional religion in China, Di Yu is a kind of purgatory place which serves not only to punish but also to renew spirits ready for their next incarnation. Jigoku is similar, with [[Shinto]] concepts. These names are interchangeable with the concept of [[Naraka]].
==Related concepts==
===Yama and Ymir===
{{Main|Ymir}}
In a disputable etymology, W. Meid (1992) has linked the names Yama (reconstructed in [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] as *yemos) and the name of the primeval Norse frost giant [[Ymir]], which can be reconstructed in Proto-Germanic as *umijaz or *jumijaz, in the latter case possibly deriving from PIE *ym̩yos, from the root ''yem'' "twin". In his myth, however, Ymir is not a twin, and only shares with Yama the characteristics of being primeval and mortal. However, Ymir is a [[hermaphrodite]] and engenders the race of giants.
===Yama in Iranian mythology===
{{Main|Jamshid}}
The parallel character in the Iranian mythology of [[Zoroastrianism]] is known as Yima Xšaēta in the Zoroastrian scripture of the [[Avesta]]. The pronunciation "Yima" is peculiar to the Avestan dialect; in most Iranian dialects, including [[Old Persian]], the name would have been "Yama". In the Avesta, the emphasis is on Yima/Yama's character as one of the first mortals and as a great king of men. Over time, ''*Yamaxšaita'' was transformed into Jamšēd or [[Jamshid]], celebrated as the greatest of the early [[Shah|Shāh]]s of the world.
===Yama in Javanese===
There is Yamadipati in Javanese culture, especially in [[wayang]]. Word ''adipati'' means ''ruler'' or ''commander''. In the beginning Hinduism came to [[Java]], Yama was still the same as Yama in Hindu myth. When [[Islam]] became majority religion, Yama was demystified by [[Walisanga]] who ruled at that time. So, in Javanese, Yama became a new character. He is son of Sanghyang Ismaya and Dewi Sanggani. In wayang story, Yamadipati married Dewi Mumpuni. Unfortunately, Dewi Mumpuni fell in love with Nagatatmala, son of [[Hyang Anantaboga]] who rules earth. Dewi Mumpuni left Yamadipati, finally.
==Yama in popular culture==
[[Image:Kagamibuta netsuke front.jpg|thumb|right|250px|19th century ''kagamibuta [[netsuke]]'' depicting [[Enma]]]]
* Yama is a major character in the [[science fiction]] novel [[Lord of Light]] by [[Roger Zelazny]]. In this novel certain colonists from Earth use high technology on a faraway planet to rule other colonists transported as frozen fertilized ova as Hindu gods. Yama is the genius behind most of the technology.
* Yama appears in the novel ''Belaku tanda Balaka'' by [[TaRaSu]].
* Yama, identified as a "Chinese spirit of the underworld", appears played by [[Todd Newton]] in the episode [[Dead Man Dating (Charmed Episode)|Dead Man Dating]] of the television series [[Charmed]].
* For uses of the Japanese version of Yama in popular culture, see ''[[Enma]]''.
* Yama is [[Monster in My Pocket]] #100.
== See also ==
*[[History of India]]
*[[Ymir]]
*[[Jamshid]]
*[[Yama (Hinduism)]]
*[[Yama (Buddhism and Chinese mythology)]]
[[Category:Death gods]]
[[Category:Rigvedic deities]]
[[Category:Hindu gods]]
[[Category:Guardians of the directions]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]
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