Yama
Yama is an Indo-Iranian deity whose name appears in Sanskrit as Yama-rāja meaning 'King Yama'. The deity is associated with death and rulership, with the name being cognate to the Bangani title Jim Raza meaning 'god of the dead'. Yama's name and attributes have been borrowed and adapted into various Nuristani and neighboring religious traditions.
↻ synthesized from 29 sources
When
- First attested
- 1500 BCE
- Attested period
- -1500 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Indo-Iranian deity attested in Sanskrit texts from the Vedic period onwards.
Relationships
- syncretized with
- Imra, Dharmadeva, Soma, Wangpurel, Pashi, Dharmarāja
- co occurs with
- Yaksha, Yaoguai, Yakshini, Yuki-onna, Yuxa, Yokai, Yacumama, Yacuruna, Yadōkai, Yagyō-san, Yakshi, Yakubyō-gami, Yali, Yallery-Brown, Yama-biko, Yama-bito, Yama-chichi, Yama-inu, Yama-otoko, Yamata no Orochi, Yama-waro, Yanari, Yara-ma-yha-who, Yatagarasu, Yato-no-kami, Yeth hound, Yilbegän, Yobuko, Yomotsu-shikome, Yong, Yōsei, Yosuzume, You Hun Ye Gui, Yowie, Yuan Gui, Yukinko, Yūrei, Menaka, Vishvamitra, Sahajanya, Durvasa, Saramā, Yama-dutas, Shraddhadeva Manu, Shani, Diyu, Brahma, Vayu, Nirṛti, Enma-O, Ishana, Bhairavas, Vajrapāṇi, Amitabha, Vishnudutas, Ganglim, Raijin, Narasimha, Kala Bhairava, Kalagni Rudra, Rakshasa, Piśācas, Rama, Lakshmana, Sankarshana, Aratis, Mara, Izanami, Psychopomp, Mot, Sejadin, Nasirdîn, Destroying angel, Fūjin, Izanagi, Shinigami, Hinokagutsuchi, Jeoseungsaja, Chandra, Śiva, yamauba, Lokapala, Manjushri, Mitra, Adityas, Vivasvat, Pushan, Savitr, Arka, Mrtyu, Tapati, Kubera, Varuna, Surya Majapahit, Īśvara, Mahādeva, Rudra, Sambhu, Sangkara, Mahesora, Isana, Vishnu, Durga, Lakshmi, Ashvins, Saraswati, Vach, Namuchi, Narayani, Vishwakarma, Chhaya, Manu, Revanta, Kala, Tapti, Vishti, Savarni Manu, Chanda, Munda, Dhumavati, Ganesha, Jyeṣṭhā, Shitala Devi, Sanjna, Yamuna, Saranyu, Kaliya, Yami, gandharvas, Ganges, Ashura, Yudhishthira, dharma, Naraka, Agniṣvāttā, Mahākāla, Vināyakas, Matarajin, Prithvi, Krishna, Gabriel, Michael, Samael, Abaddon, Azrael, Santa Muerte, Sūrya, Marut, Mitra-Varuna
- sibling of
- Yami, the Ashvins, Manu, Yamuna
- enemy of
- Yamantaka, Kalantaka, Holy Spirit
- serves
- dharma
- allied with
- Agni, Indra, Varuna, Chitragupta, Generals of Five Paths
- served by
- Dakiniten, Dakini, Saptamātṛkās, Sharvara, Shyama, Yama-dutas, Kala, Horse-Face, Ox-Head, Jeoseungsaja, Yama-dutas, Chitragupta
- has aspect
- Kala, Yanluo Wang, Enma-Dai-Ō, Yeomra, Diêm La Vương
Mentioned by
- Wangpurel
- Pashi
- Dharmarāja
- Prithvi
- Krishna
- Gabriel
- Michael
- Samael
- Abaddon
- Azrael
- Santa Muerte
- Sūrya
- Marut
- Mitra-Varuna
- Holy Spirit
- Generals of Five Paths
and 22 more
Sources
Source passages
“The name of the deity is considered a reflex of Indo-Iranian Yama. The name Imro or Yum in Kamkata-vari is thought to derive from a borrowing of Sanskrit Yama-rāja 'King Yama'”
#3832 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“Yama (China, Korea, Japan, Buddhism, including Tibet) – Wrathful god”
#5524 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“The figures are half-naked and seated on circular mats next to a human corpse...in the court of Yama (Enmaten in Japanese), next to the Saptamātṛkās and other similar deities.”
#6178 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“In other Puranic accounts, Menaka is again depicted as a celestial temptress dispatched by Indra to disturb the penances of sages and even other gods, including the death god Yama.”
#7993 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“The matter in dispute, the Yamadutas brought the Brahmin to an audience with Yama, and the Vishnudutas explained that the Shastras (religious scriptures) state that the mere utterance or the recitation of the name of Vishnu, even if taken to denote another person, or in a friendly joke, or as an insertion during the recitation of a song, or even as an apparent insult, completely annihilates all the sins of the one who utters it.”
#12342 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001