Deity

Yama

यम

Also called Yamraj

verses
5,974
books
37
chapters
2,365
Child of
Surya

What the texts say

In the Rigveda, King Yama, son of Vivasvat, is the one who went ahead and discerned the path for many. Rig Veda 10.14.1 In the same hymn, the departed are told they will behold Yama and the god Varuna. Rig Veda 10.14.7 The Mahabharata calls him a king of righteous disposition, lord over all embodied beings, tied to the southern direction. Mahabharata 3.160.8 In the Garuda Purana, his attendants lead the departed to him, and he presides as the one who discerns dharma and adharma. Garuda Purana 1.225.3, 2.6.135 In the Katha Upanishad, Yama teaches Nachiketa the sacred fire that is the source of all worlds, and Nachiketa's third request is to learn what happens when a person departs. Katha Upanishad 1.1.15, 1.1.20 In the Mahabharata, Savitri chooses as her boon that her husband Satyavan live, and Yama, saying so be it, releases the nooses. Mahabharata 3.281.51, 3.281.54

Where to read

Every verse that names Yama, book by book.

  1. Skanda Purana

    1,475 verses · 435 chapters

    All 1,475 verses in the Skanda Purana
    • 6.1.26.5

      Ek baar Yamraj ne apne naukar ko bulaya. Us naukar ke baal khade the, aankhein laal thi, daant kaale the. Woh darravna dikhta tha.

    • 2.4.11.26

      Beta, jo bhi yeh doosra din ka vrat karta hai, jise Yama ka naam kehte hain, woh bina waqt marne se bach jaata hai. Uske aas paas bete aur potte rehte hain.

    • 3.2.4.1

      Vyas ne kaha, ab main tumhe Dharamraj ke baare mein batata hoon. Yeh sunne ke baad Yamraj ke darwaze ka darr nahi rehta. Koi bhi haal ho, darr nahi aata.

  2. Mahabharata

    788 verses · 411 chapters

    All 788 verses in the Mahabharata

    Also in the Gita Press edition: 1,187 verses

    • 3.281.16

      Phir Yamraj ne zabardasti Satyavat ke shareer se ek cheez nikaali. Woh angootha jitni badi thi, rassi se bandhi hui, aur kabu mein aa gayi thi.

    • 13.70.14

      Maine aapka kaam poora kiya aur jaldi nikal gaya. Yama ki sabha pahuncha, woh bahut badi hai aur sundar bhi. Sona jaisi zameen, hazaron yojan tak faili hui.

    • 13.67.10

      Yama uth ke khade ho gaye. Usne us brahman ki puja ki aur bola ki isko le jao, kisi aur ko uski jagah laao.

  3. Padma Purana

    644 verses · 229 chapters

    All 644 verses in the Padma Purana
    • 7.23.45

      Chitragupta ne sab check kiya. Yama ne kaha tha toh usne dekha ki kiska kya kaam hai. Koi accha kaam kiya ya sirf acchi baat boli, sab note kiya. Woh har cheez jaanta tha, jad se pakad ke dekhta.

    • 7.15.31

      Dono ne bahut saare paap kiye the. Dharamraja ne apne logon ko bheja. Chand aur doosron ko bheja unhe laane ke liye.

    • 6.66.1

      Narad ne kaha, Dev, mujhe batao Yama ki puja kaise karein. Main bhagwan se pooch raha hoon, insaan narak mein kaise nahi jaye? Batao koi tarika.

  4. Garuda Purana

    451 verses · 120 chapters

    All 451 verses in the Garuda Purana
    • 2.6.8

      Raja ne kaha ki maine jo takat thi utni dharam follow kiya hai. Par jab maine Yamraj ke baare mein suna toh dil mein bahut dar lagta hai.

    • 1.2.48

      Hey Rudra, main Yamraj hoon, main niyam hoon. Main har tarah ke vrat hoon jo log rakhte hain. Main Suraj hoon, main Chaand hoon. Main Mangal aur baaki grah bhi hoon.

    • 1.6.55

      Anjak, Narak aur Kalanabh bhi the. Yeh sab Nivatakavach daitya the aur Prahlad ke khandaan mein paida hue.

Also named in

Key chapters

The chapters where Yama matters most.

  1. Sāvitrī’s Dialogue with Yama and the Restoration of Satyavān

    Mahabharata 3.281 · 50 verses

    Cosmic adjudicator of death and dharma, both antagonist and…

  2. Yamarāja Instructs the Yamadūtas: Supreme Authority, Mahājanas, and the Glory of the Holy Name

    Bhagavatam 6.3 · 24 verses

    Mahājana and cosmic judge who publicly subordinates his office…

  3. Instruction on the Glory of Hāṭakeśvara Kṣetra

    Skanda Purana 6.1.26 · 40 verses

  4. Yamadvitīyā Vrata: Procedure, Ethics, and Promised Outcomes

    Skanda Purana 2.4.11 · 34 verses

  5. Dharmāraṇya Māhātmya: Varddhanī-Dharma Dialogue, Śiva’s Boons, and the Institution of Dharmavāpī

    Skanda Purana 3.2.4 · 33 verses

  6. Śivaśarmā’s Vision of Worlds and the Encounter with Dharmarāja

    Skanda Purana 4.1.8 · 33 verses

  7. Yama-Yami Samvada: The Firmness of Yama's Mind

    Narasimha Purana 1.12 · 32 verses

  8. The Glory of Dharmarājeśvara and the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Liṅga

    Skanda Purana 6.1.139 · 31 verses

  9. Aṃkapāda-darśana and the Yamaloka Episode (Sāndīpani’s Son and the Five Forms at Kuśasthalī)

    Skanda Purana 5.1.27 · 30 verses

  10. The Glory of Śukla Tīrtha on the Narmadā

    Skanda Purana 5.3.155 · 30 verses

Key episodes

  1. Ajamila and the Name Narayana

    Bhagavatam 6.1-6.3

  2. Nachiketa and Yama

    Katha Upanishad 1.1-2.3

  3. Savitri and Satyavan

    Mahabharata 3.277-3.283

Also known to Wikipedia · Wikidata Q45097