Yamadutas (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

: यमदूत; th, ยมทูต) are the messengers of death according to

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, the agents of

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...

, the god of the netherworld. They carry the departed souls of human beings who had not achieved

moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologic ...

to Yamaloka, the underworld.

Mythology

Story of Ajamila

The Yamadutas feature prominently in the story of Ajamila. Ajamila is described to be a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

who once set out to the jungle to collect ''kusha'' grass. Ajamila met a beautiful Shudra woman on the way, and neglecting his duties, the Brahmin made her his wife. Ten children were born to them. When he was on his deathbed, when the messengers of Yama were waiting to take him to hell, he called out the name of his favourite son, Narayana, which was also an epithet of Vishnu. Upon this, the Vishnudutas, the messengers of Vishnu, prevented Yama's men from taking Ajamila to hell. The matter in dispute, the Yamadutas brought the Brahmin to an audience with Yama, and upon hearing the tale, the deity of death affirmed that the Vishnudutas were on the right, upon which the messengers of death extoled the glories of Vishnu. This legend is the origin of the belief that the Yamadutas steer clear of Vaishnavas, or in the very least carry them to Vaikuntha rather than Yamaloka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamaduta Non-human races in Hindu mythology Death deities

Mythology

Story of Ajamila

See also

References