Hinduism is the only religion in the world today that gives a clear picture on the cycle of birth, rebirth and the journey of a soul, once the body is dead. The ancient texts share information on exactly what happens after death and answers your questions relating to ghosts, demons, angels etc. Rather than painting a fancy picture, our granth brings clarity on the deeds and misdeeds. It gives us a clear cut view of the consequences a person faces for the bad deeds done in a lifetime.
Even though God has created us, he has given us a free will as well. We are free to do whatever we want. You can either put into action every bad or good thought or control your bad thoughts and work on practicing only the good deeds. The choice is practically yours.
Who is Yama God and Why is he called the Dharmaraj?
After the Sun God married Saranyu (daughter of Tvastr – the celestial artisan), she gave birth to twins who were named – Yama and Yami. Saranyu could not bear the heat and light that came from the Sun God. One day, she placed her shadow named Chaya in place of her to look after the twins and the rest of the duties. For a long period of time, the Sun God was unable to tell the difference between Saranyu and Chaya. This eventually led to Chaya giving birth to her own children from Surya. She also hated the stepchildren and often treated them badly. Yama once struck Chaya when he could not tolerate her misbehavior any longer. This gave away the disguise and the Sun God left in search for his wife. The rest of the story will be told another day!
There are different stories that estimate the reasons behind Yama becoming Yama God (The God of Death). The first story is that – Yami wanted to have children and reached out to Yama with love so she could become a mother. Yama hated the idea of incest and turned away. He asked his sister to seek another man for her desires as he regarded incest as one of the biggest sins.
Yama died without having children and thus became the first Pitr. He found himself trapped in the land of the dead. He did not have any children who could facilitate his rebirth in the land of the living. As he was the first of them all, he was given the task of becoming the God of Death and to direct all souls. It is also said that since Yami mourned for her brother, she became Yamini – the sad lady of the night. She became a part of the nature.
In another version of the story, it is said that when Yama kicked Chaya, his leg got infested with maggots. This act also put a curse on him and made him the God of Death.
On a related note:
For those of you who paid attention to the story of Mahabharata or watched the popular TV shows that narrate the story, you must be well aware that Yuddhishthir (eldest of the Pandava sons), was also called Dharmaraj. Don’t jump to the conclusion that Yuddhisthir is Yama God. Rather he was the son of Yama born from the womb of Kunti (the story of Yama God’s son being named as Pandava son will be discussed another day).
What are the Main Features of the Yama God?
Every God in the Sanatan Dharm has a role to play. As Lord Krishna said, everyone has to perform Karm. The roles and duties of every God are carefully outlined and the code of law is marked out for them to follow. Let’s break down the features and role of this God in a brief way.
| Features | Roles |
| Dark Skinned | Ruler of the Dead – Carries the Soul as soon as it leaves the Body |
| Divine Mount is Buffalo | Relentless and Monitors the Lifetime of a Soul |
| Carries a Mace in One Hand that signifies justice | Dispassionate and Gives Fair Judgement |
| Carries a Noose that is Tied Around a Soul | He brings order and is known as the keeper of the laws of nature |
| Garland of Flames | Decides the Circumstances of the next life of a soul as per the deeds of the past life |
According to the varied readings, you can easily say that Dharmaraj has complete control on his emotions. The internal or external circumstances do not affect him. His duty is to give strict adherence to the laws of the world. He is never seen to be biased towards anyone. The reflection of this conduct can be easily seen in the picturisation of the characteristics of Yudhishthir in the Mahabharata Purana as well.
The Yama God is given the responsibility to keep an account of all the good and bad deeds. He is the ultimate Dharmaraja who walks along with a person throughout his lifetime. Quietly taking note of everything, he gives his judgement upon death alone.
The Yama God as per our Vedas is not like the Devil or Lucifer as described in the Bible. He is not evil. He is just the carrier of the scales of justice and ensuring balance is his job. When a Pitr or a soul has debts to pay from the past lives, he makes sure the payment is done in the next or the next. The cycle goes on until you are debt free. For example, if you are an honest person, you will repay the money you owe to the bank in due time. The nature of deeds is just like the bank and account keeper is Yama God.
Based on the deeds done in a particular life, the Yama God then decides the place, time, circumstances, family, type of body, fortunes and misfortunes etc. that are to be given to a particular soul in the next lifetime (when the time is right).
Can you Escape the Cycle of Karma?
When you are sent back to the Bhuloka by Yama God to balance the scales of deeds and debts, a human being does not carry the memories of the past lives. So, how can one determine whether the debts are paid or which good deed to perform to ensure the scales are balanced for the next life?
Another popular question that I have come across is – If we keep doing new karmas while trying to balance the old ones, is there ever an end to the cycle? You can never escape doing Karma. The following explanation might come of some help here:
Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita –
“कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥”
It means that performing Karma is the duty of every human being. Even if you draw a single breath or eat food, you are performing a Karma. The one thing that separates the good people from the bad is consuming only the amount you absolutely need. When people start knowing the difference between Need and Want that is when nature and the world starts thriving again.
The only way to escape the cycle of karma, birth and rebirth – is to keep your actions in check at all times. Refrain from conducting any bad actions. A description of actions that constitute equities and debts will be explained in another post. Another way of escaping the cycle is meditation, spiritual growth and commitment to enlightenment.
Your Spiritual growth and investment is the only thing that is carried forward by the soul from one birth to another. If you have not embarked on your journey to spiritualism, now is the time!
If you liked this article, you might also want to read about – Main Elements of Creation
