ORIENTAL SERIES.

374
YAMA.
which guard the road to his abode, and which, the departed are
advised to hurry past with all possible speed. These dogs are
said to wander about among men as his messengers, no doubt
for the purpose of summoning them to their master, who is in
another place identified with death, and is described as sending
a bird as the herald of doom."
In the epic poems Yama is the son of the Sun by Sanjna
(conscience), and brother of Vaivaswata (Manu). Mythologically
he was the father of Yudhi-sh&ira. He is the god of departed
spirits and judge of the dead A soul when it quits its mortal
form repairs to his abode in the lower regions ; there the re-
corder, Chitra-gupta, reads out his account from the great
register called Agra-sandhanl, and a just sentence follows, when
the soul either ascends to the abodes of the Pitns (Manes), or
is sent to one of the twenty-one hells according to its guilt, or
it is born again on earth in another form. Yama is regent of
the south quarter, and as such is called Dakshinasa-pati. He
is represented as of a green colour and clothed with red. He
rides upon a buffalo, and is armed with a ponderous mace and a
noose to secure his victims.
In the Puraas a legend is told of Yama having lifted his
foot to kick Chhaya, the handmaid of his father. She cursed
him to have his leg affected with sores and worms, but his
father gave him a cock which picked off the worms and cured
the discharge. Through this incident he is called Sirna-pada,
'shrivelled foot.'
Yama had several wives, as Hemamala, Su-sila, and Vijaya.
He dwells in the lower world, in his city Yama-pura. There, in
his palace called Kallchi, he sits upon his throne of judgment,
Vichara-bhu. He is assisted by his recorder and councillor,
Chitra-gupta, and waited upon by his two chief attendants and
custodians, Chanda or Maha-chanda, and Kala-pursusha. His
messengers, Yama-dutas, bring in the souls of the dead, and the
door of his judgment-hall is kept by his porter, Yaidhyata.
Yama has many names descriptive of Ms office. He is Mntyu,
'
death ; Kntanta,
'
the finisher ; Samana,
J
c
D&ndl or Da?zda-dhara,
'
Bhlma-
Kala, and Antaka, t
' the settler ;
sasana, of terrible decrees ;
pati,
c
'
lord of the manes ;
'
the rod-bearer ;
Pasi, *
'
the noose-carrier ;
Pitri.
Preta-raja, *
king of the ghosts ;
'
Sraddha-deva, 'god of the exequial offerings;' and especially