Shloka 12
Yamarāja Instructs the Yamadūtas: Supreme Authority, Mahājanas, and the Glory of the Holy Name
यम उवाच परो मदन्यो जगतस्तस्थुषश्च ओतं प्रोतं पटवद्यत्र विश्वम् । यदंशतोऽस्य स्थितिजन्मनाशा नस्योतवद्यस्य वशे च लोक: ॥ १२ ॥
yama uvāca paro mad-anyo jagatas tasthuṣaś ca otaṁ protaṁ paṭavad yatra viśvam yad-aṁśato ’sya sthiti-janma-nāśā nasy otavad yasya vaśe ca lokaḥ
Yamarāja dit : Mes chers serviteurs, vous m’avez pris pour le Suprême, mais en vérité je ne le suis pas. Au-dessus de moi et de tous les demi-dieux, y compris Indra et Candra, se tient l’unique Maître et Contrôleur suprême. Ses manifestations partielles sont Brahmā, Viṣṇu et Śiva, chargés de la création, du maintien et de la destruction de l’univers. Tel les deux fils de chaîne et de trame d’une étoffe, le monde entier est tissé en Lui; et tous les mondes sont sous Son pouvoir, comme un taureau maîtrisé par une corde passée au nez.
The order carriers of Yamarāja suspected that there was a ruler even above Yamarāja. To eradicate their doubts, Yamarāja immediately replied, “Yes, there is one supreme controller above everything.” Yamarāja is in charge of some of the moving living entities, namely the human beings, but the animals, who also move, are not under his control. Only human beings have consciousness of right and wrong, and among them only those who perform sinful activities come under the control of Yamarāja. Therefore although Yamarāja is a controller, he is only a departmental controller of a few living entities. There are other demigods who control many other departments, but above them all is one supreme controller, Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ: the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Others, who control their own departments in the affairs of the universe, are insignificant in comparison to Kṛṣṇa, the supreme controller. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.7) , mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: “My dear Dhanañjaya [Arjuna], no one is superior to Me.” Therefore Yamarāja immediately cleared away the doubts of his assistants, the Yamadūtas, by confirming that there is a supreme controller above all others.
FAQs
This verse states that there is a Supreme Person higher than Yamarāja, in whom the whole universe is woven, and from whose partial potency creation, maintenance, and destruction occur—therefore all beings ultimately remain under the Lord’s control.
Yamarāja is correcting his servants’ misunderstanding of who is truly punishable and who is protected by higher dharma, emphasizing that ultimate authority rests with the Supreme Lord, not with Yamarāja’s jurisdiction alone.
It cultivates humility and responsibility: recognizing a higher moral order encourages ethical choices, devotion, and trust that life operates under a divine governance beyond merely human systems.