Yamaraja - a glorious personality

Krsna and Balarama summon Yamarāja
Krsna and Balarama summon Yamaraja

Facts about Yamarāja - one of the twelve Mahajanas, a demigod and a saintly king

Family tree of Yamarāja

Family Tree Legend: h = husband, w = wife, s = son, d = daughter

Yamarāja is the demigod of death, who passes judgment on non-devotees at the time of death.

   
 

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Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer reveal the qualities of this glorious personality as seen in the Vaniquotes Yamarāja category. An introduction to Yamarāja from Srila Prabhupada's books is given below in the following 11 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's Books


vanipedia.org 		Yamarāja, the great controller of life after death, decides the living entities' destinies in their next lives. He is surely among the most confidential representatives of the Lord. Such confidential posts are offered to great devotees of the Lord who are as good as His eternal associates in the spiritual sky. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.5.21)



vanipedia.org 		In this life, an envious person commits violent acts against many living entities. Therefore after his death, when he is taken to hell by Yamarāja, those living entities who were hurt by him appear as animals called rurus to inflict very severe pain upon him. Learned scholars call this hell Raurava. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.26.11)



vanipedia.org 		There are many living entities who give punishment to the miscreants, and among them Yama is the chief. Yama is situated in a planet near this earthly planet. After death those who are very sinful are taken there, and Yama arranges different kinds of punishments for them. (Bhagavad-gītā 10.29)



vanipedia.org 		There are more wrongdoers than righteous men. Therefore Yamarāja has to do more work than other demigods who are also authorized agents of the Supreme Lord. But he wanted to preach the glories of the Lord, and therefore by the will of the Lord he was cursed by Maṇḍūka Muni to come into the world in the incarnation of Vidura and work very hard as a great devotee. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.13.15)



vanipedia.org 		Yamarāja is not a fictitious or mythological character; he has his own abode, Pitṛloka, of which he is king. Agnostics may not believe in hell, but Śukadeva Gosvāmī affirms the existence of the Naraka planets, which lie between the Garbhodaka Ocean and Pātālaloka. Yamarāja is appointed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to see that the human beings do not violate His rules and regulations. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.26.6)



vanipedia.org 		The only hope of suspending the cruel slaughtering process of Yamarāja is to call him to hear and chant the holy name of the Lord. Yamarāja is a great devotee of the Lord, and he likes to be invited to kīrtanas and sacrifices by the pure devotees, who are constantly engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.16.7)



vanipedia.org 		Intelligent persons, however, take to the devotional service of the Lord. When they chant the holy name of the Lord without offenses, they are no longer subject to my rulings. If by chance they commit some sinful act, they are protected by the holy name of the Lord because that is where their interest lies. The four weapons of the Lord, especially the club and the Sudarśana cakra, always protect the devotees. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.3 Summary)



vanipedia.org 		A person who in this life is proud of his eminent position, and who heedlessly sacrifices animals simply for material prestige, is put into the hell called Visasana after death. There the assistants of Yamaraja kill him after giving him unlimited pain. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.26.25)



vanipedia.org 		The Yamadūtas could not imagine that two judges would give two different verdicts in the same case, and therefore they wanted to know who the central judge is. The Yamadūtas were certain that Ajāmila was a most sinful man, but although Yamarāja wanted to punish him, the Viṣṇudūtas excused him. This was a puzzling situation that the Yamadūtas wanted Yamarāja to clarify. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.3.6)



vanipedia.org 		The Yamadūtas were surprised to see that the Viṣṇudūtas, although polite, were hindering the rule of Yamarāja. Similarly, the Viṣṇudūtas were also surprised that the Yamadūtas, although claiming to be servants of Yamarāja, the supreme judge of religious principles, were unaware of the principles of religious action. Thus the Viṣṇudūtas smiled, thinking, "What is this nonsense they are speaking? If they are actually servants of Yamarāja they should know that Ajāmila is not a suitable candidate for them to carry off. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.37)



vanipedia.org 		In the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in connection with Ajāmila's deliverance, Yamarāja says, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: (SB 6.3.19) real religion is that which is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as real law is that which is given by the government. No one can manufacture actual law at home, nor can one manufacture actual religion. Elsewhere it is said, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje: (SB 1.2.6) the real religious system is that which leads one to become a devotee of the Supreme Lord. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavata 7.15.13)


Yamarāja - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 215 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's teachings under the series titled Glorious Personalities. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is an attractive personality for everyone.


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