Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c32.93

v2.c32.93

In the Jātakas⁷ the Nirayas are particularly mentioned as Yama’s abode (*Yamakkhaya*, *Yamanivesana*, *Yamasādana*, etc.); but, more generally, all *samsāra* is considered as subject to Yama’s rule, and escape from *samsāra* means escape from Yama’s influence, Yama being the god of Death. It is evidently in this sense that Yama is called Vesāyī (*q.v.*).⁸ Yama is sometimes mentioned⁹ with Indra, Varuṇa, Soma, Pajāpati, etc., as a god to whom sacrifices are offered. There is a tradition¹⁰ that once Yama longed to be born as a human being and to sit at the feet of a Tathāgata.