History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c71.s1.625
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c71.s1.625
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We have here a complicated blending of two theories The original theory of early Vedic times was that of Heaven and Hell which is also that of most religions Later on when the doctrines of *karma* and *punarjanma* came to be universally believed in India the theory of Heaven and Hell came to be modified by holding that the pleasures of heaven and the torments of Hell both came to an end some time or other and the author of sins was born again as an animal or a tree or a human being suffering from diseases and defects The fate of the departed soul after the death of the body will be touched upon in the section on Antyeṣṭi and Śrāddha, but in connection with the doctrine of Hell it is necessary to say something about Yama. In Ṛg. X. 58. 1 Yama is called Vaivasvata (son of Vivasvat, the Sun). Yama is at least an Indo-Iranian deity. Yama is eulogised in Ṛg. X. 14. He is called a king and is credited with the task of gathering together people (X. 14. 1); he is said to have been the first to make a way (to Heaven) which was followed by former ancestors of mankind (X 14. 2 'Yamo no gātum prathamo viveda. yatrā naḥ pūrve pitaraḥ pareyuḥ '). The soul when departing from this world is told that when he follows the paths of the ancient ancestors he would see the two kings Yama and Varuṇa. In Ṛg. X. 14. 13-15 the priests are asked to press Soma for Yama, to offer oblations to him and it is said that *yajña* reaches Yama, Agni being the messenger. In Ṛg. X. 135.
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1 Yama is stated to drink in the company of gods, he is the lord of men. Yama owns two dogs each having four eyes who guard the way, who are the spies of Yama and who move among men and mark their doings. In Ṛg. X. 97. 16 the sage prays 'May the plants release me from the (effects of the) violation of oaths, from the violation of the ordinances of Varuṇa, from the fetters which Yama claps on the feet of sinners and from all sins against the gods'³⁸¹ In Ṛg. X. 165. 4 Yama is identified with Mṛtyu (death) and the owl (an evil omen) or a *kapota* is said to be the *dūta* (harbinger) of Yama Ṛg I. 38 5 (addressed to the Maruts) appears to crave for something which is opposed to what other references to Yama state 'May not the singer of your praises go by the path of Yama'.³⁸² Thus, though in the Ṛgveda, Yama is a god and mostly a beneficent ruler of men, there is an element of fear associated with him as the two prying dogs that guard the way to heaven and his being called Mṛtyu would suggest. The Atharvaveda refers to Yama in several places in the same strain as in the Ṛg. In A. V 18 3 13 it is said ³⁸³ 'serve the king Yama with offering, who was the first to die among men, who was the first to depart from this world and who, the son of Vivasvat, is the gatherer of men'. In Tai S. V. I. 8 2 and V 2. 3. 1 it is stated that Yama is the lord of all mortals and of the whole extent of the earth. In Tai S III.
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3 8 3–4 it is declared ³⁸⁴ 'Yama is indeed Agni and this (earth and altar) is Yamī. When a sacrificer strews Oṣadhis on the Vedi it is indeed tantamount to taking up a debt from Yama If he (the sacrificer) were to go from this world without burning them they (Yama's men) might take him to the next world with fetters round his neck' In Rg X 14. 10³⁸⁵ the *pitṛs* are said to enjoy delights in the company of Yama In the Ait Br 385a (XII. 3) Mṛtyu is credited with having fetters (pāsas) and wooden maces (sthānu) for catching erring men. It has already been seen how Yama is said to have within his powers again and again foolish men who believe in the existence of this world alone and deny the existence of the next Thus, from being a beneficent ruler of the departed souls in the very early Vedic times, Yama came gradually to be looked upon as a dreadful punisher of men.³⁸⁶ The Purāṇas contain graphic descriptions of Yama's abode and of his assistants, chief among whom is Citragupta For example, the Varāhapurāṇa 386a chap 205 contains a dialogue between Yama and Citragupta, in which the latter recommends the fate that a dead person deserves for his actions The Agnipurāṇa chap. 371. 12 states that a sinner falls into horrible hells that are declared by Citragupta at the order of Yama.