History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c71.s1.625.2

v5.c71.s1.625.2

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.