Shloka 18
मानससृष्टिः, रुद्रोत्पत्तिः, मन्वादिवंशः, प्रलयचतुष्टयम्
यज्ञस्य दक्षिणायां तु पुत्रा द्वादश जज्ञिरे यामा इति समाख्याता देवाः स्वायम्भुवे मनौ
yajñasya dakṣiṇāyāṃ tu putrā dvādaśa jajñire yāmā iti samākhyātā devāḥ svāyambhuve manau
Mula kay Dakṣiṇā, kabiyak ni Yajña, isinilang ang labindalawang anak na lalaki. Sa Manvantara ni Svāyambhuva Manu, sila’y kilala bilang mga diyos na Yāma, na nagtataguyod ng kaayusang ṛta sa ilalim ng kataas-taasang paghahari ni Viṣṇu.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
FAQs
This verse identifies the Yāmas as the twelve deities born of Yajña and Dakṣiṇā, serving as the recognized class of gods in Svāyambhuva Manu’s Manvantara—signaling how divine offices shift across cosmic cycles.
By naming the Yāmas as the devas “in Svāyambhuve manau,” Parāśara indicates that each Manvantara has its own set of ruling deities and administrators who maintain dharma and cosmic order for that period.
Even while detailing births and divine classes, the Purāṇa frames such administration as part of Viṣṇu’s overarching order—deities function as instruments of the Supreme Reality’s governance of time, law, and creation.