Shloka 8
यमस्तु राजा धर्मज्ञ: सर्वप्राणभृतां प्रभु: । प्रेतसत्त्वगतिं होनां दक्षिणामाश्रितो दिशम्,“समस्त प्राणियोंके ऊपर प्रभुत्व रखनेवाले धर्मज्ञ राजा यम इस दक्षिण दिशाका आश्रय लेकर रहते हैं। इसमें मरे हुए प्राणी ही जा सकते हैं
yamastu rājā dharmajñaḥ sarvaprāṇabhṛtāṃ prabhuḥ | pretasattvagatiṃ hīnām dakṣiṇām āśrito diśam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Yama, the king who knows dharma and is the sovereign over all living beings, abides in the southern quarter. That direction is regarded as the path of departed spirits—an inferior course—accessible only to those who have died.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links Yama with dharma and universal sovereignty, presenting death and the afterlife as governed by moral order. The southern quarter symbolizes the route of the departed, reminding listeners that embodied life ends and that one’s course is framed within dharma.
Vaiśampāyana describes Yama’s status and abode: he is the dharma-knowing king over all living beings and is associated with the southern direction, characterized as the path/reach of the dead (preta), accessible only after death.