Mysterious India, as well as the Middle East and Asian countries, has attracted the attention of the curious for more than a century. Of particular interest are the deities of these cultures, which are strikingly different from all that Europeans are used to.
Not only unusual images, colors and plots, the architecture of temples are attractive, but also stories associated with various deities, along with their biography. Discovering this amazing world of a completely different ancient culture, curious people often come across the fact that in different, at first glance, religions and in places located at a considerable distance, the same deities are present. At the same time, the biographies and functions of the gods are similar, although, of course, they have some differences. It is precisely to such super-beings that God Yama belongs.
Image description
The pit is depicted in different ways, it all depends on which culture and religion to consider it. Far from every country and even region (within the borders of one state) professing Hinduism or Buddhism, the god Yama is present. India depicts him with four hands and rather gloomy. Tibet is filled with images of a two-armed Pit. With a pair of hands it was also depicted by the inhabitants of Ugarit, Phenicia and Canaan in ancient times. However, these images are united by one caveat - the skin color of the Pit on them is blue, although the shades differ.
Followers of Hinduism often portray a deity accompanied by dogs. But the representations of Buddhists are more vivid, fantastic and diverse. God Yama is often endowed with a bull’s head, three eyes and a halo of flames. However, in Tibetan images, Yama’s head is completely human, but the bull still appears one way or another in the images.
Ancient murals from Phenicia and other places on the Syrian coast look completely different. They pay great attention to marine issues. This is not surprising, because the essence of the deity in these places in ancient times was significantly different from the ideas about him in other regions.
The Chinese, like the Japanese, did not stain the skin of the Pit in bright blue shades, with very few exceptions. Probably, such a nuance is associated with the features of artistic calligraphy. Nevertheless, dark shades were given to the skin quite often.
The stylistic decision of how the god Yama was portrayed depended not only on the variety of religion, region, but also on which hypostasis was represented by ancient artists in their works. Like many other deities, Yama has several. Moreover, hypostasis does not have a special effect on the functions of God and, accordingly, on the perception of God by people.
What beliefs is Yama in?
God Yama is present in Hinduism, the beliefs of the ancient Syrians and Phoenicians, and, of course, it is represented in Buddhism and Taoism.
In which of the ancient religions and beliefs-related cultures the deity appeared first, it is impossible to find out. But in every culture, Yama was present from ancient times, that is, he was one of the first gods. Of course, his image developed and changed over time.
In Canaan and Ugarit
On the Syrian coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in Ugarit, Phenicia and Canaan, Yama was the deity of the seas, lakes, rivers and everything that people connected with them. The god of the sea Yama combined two opposites. Presumably, the duality of his nature was determined by the seasons at sea. Summer waters, as a rule, were calm and well suited for shopping or any other trips. In the winter months, storms raged.
The character of the deity was quite complex, contradictory and somewhat absurd, like the sea element itself. One of the ancient myths tells how Yama wished to become the first of the gods. To achieve this status, he decided to build himself a special palace. Other deities did not dare to argue with him, with the exception of Baal. The gods staged a duel in which Yama lost. Thus, Baal prevented the reign of general chaos and saved the existing order of things. Presumably, the content of this myth is also related to the weather at sea in different seasons. The word "yam" in Canaanian language meant "sea".
In Hinduism
In Sanskrit, there is also a hint of the duality of the essence of the deity. “Pit” or “yama” is a “twin”. This word denoted the second nature, doubles, opposites. Some researchers believe that the essence of the term is close to what Asians called "yin-yang." What arose earlier - a word or a consonant name of a deity - is unknown.
Yama is the god of death and justice. He was the first of the super-beings to commit an act of self-sacrifice, rejecting his own immortality. It was this action that made possible the appearance of all that is, that is, the world in which people live.
In primary, most ancient representations, this is also a deity, personifying the Sun and being the twin of the Moon. The moon was called Yami. The sun, respectively, is a pit. The Vedas have a curious section that conveys the dialogue of a brother and sister, the moon and the sun. In it, the Moon inclines the Sun to close relationships, but receives a rejection due to consanguinity. This dialogue of deities became the basis for the later rules, traditions, and laws governing the institution of marriage and family among Hindus.
The pit as the personification of the Sun is also mentioned in the texts of the Rigveda - a collection of religious chants, odes and hymns. The same texts tell about the origin of the deity. According to them, he is the son of the coming day, the dawn, called Vivasvat, and the passing night - Saranya, who is the daughter of Tvashtar, the creator of everything, the blacksmith of the gods and, in principle, a jack of all trades.
Thus, the god Yama in the form of the daytime, visible Sun symbolized life, and after sunset - death. Of course, over time, the primary ideas about the deity and its functions changed, developed.
Pit as a personification of death in Hinduism
With the development of people's primary ideas about the structure of the world, the idea of their deities has changed. Of course, the Pit was no exception. Over time, the deity began to appear as wandering among the living and looking for victims.
The pit does not wander alone. Next to him are two dogs that not only accompany God, but also play the role of his ambassadors. Dogs carry deity-targeted victims to the afterlife. However, everything is not as gloomy as it might seem. According to the beliefs of the Hindus, after death, people continue to lead their ordinary lives, just in another place, outside the living world.
The pit, gradually transforming from the personification of the Sun into the first deceased, who opened the door to the afterlife for all people, is one of the divine peacekeepers in Hinduism. The history of the transformation of God and the opening to people of the possibility of the afterlife is described in one of the texts of the Rig Veda - in the hymn "14" of the mandala X.
In Buddhism
God Yama in Buddhism in many of its features is similar to the Egyptian Osiris. Pit - the supreme judge in the realm of death, he is also the ruler of the analogues of hell, paradise and purgatory. In the images of the deity, such details are often present: a necklace of skulls, specific wands that embody the possession of underground bowels and treasures, a lasso intended for catching souls. Of course, often a sword is in the hands of Yama. The three eyes of God convey his possession of time - past, future and present.
The deity has several incarnations. The pit, called Shinje, is located in the center of the underworld, holding a sword and a mirror reflecting karma. Mirror - a kind of analogue of scales. There are deities and helpers, there are four of them. The many-armed god has no helpers.
According to one legend, Shinje pacified Manjushri - the closest associate of Buddha Gautama, the keeper of paradise lands in the East and the teacher, conductor of bodhisattvas. He is considered the embodiment of wisdom itself, the essence of being.
The suppression of the incarnation of Shinje made possible the emergence of Yama Dharmaraja - the protector. This is a rather complicated hypostasis, having individual incarnations or manifestations. The term “defender” itself is rather arbitrary, it should not be taken literally. In the Russian language there is no word that would maximally convey the meaning of the functions of the Dharmaraja.
In traditional representations, the Yama Dharmaraja, as an esoteric guardian or protector, manifests itself in the following ways:
- external - in the images appears with a bull’s head, protects from adversity, misfortunes and misfortunes awaiting in the external environment;
- internal - resists the weaknesses and vices of the person himself;
- secret - this is intuition, instincts, it is in them that the essence of the deity is manifested as an adviser, a tip.
There is one more basic variation of the Dharmaraja hypostasis, which is not customary to speak publicly. This is the so-called final version - Yamaraja, with which the essence of man meets in the instant of death.
In Japanese and Chinese performances
The sound of the name of the Pit, characteristic of Sanskrit, the Chinese somewhat changed, however, like the Japanese, adapting it to their own language. In Chinese, the name of the god sounds like Yanlo, and in Japanese, Emma. Various consoles expressing respect were added to the names.
In China, Yama is the ruler of all the dead and, of course, their judge. A god was depicted with a brush in one hand and a book of fate in the other. The trial of the dead, according to Chinese mythology, consisted not only in determining the righteousness or sins of people.
The meaning of legal proceedings after life is to determine what kind of rebirth a person will get. Yango in Chinese paintings often appears in the clothes of an official with a traditional hat of a judge on his head.
The Japanese believed that God rules jigoku - a place that is largely similar to European ideas about hell, but somewhat wider. Rather, it is the underworld, with a predominance of hellish themes. Jigoku consists of sixteen "hellish circles" - eight fiery and the same number of ice. Emma dominates all of them, at the disposal of which there are countless army of the dead, controlled by eighteen generals. In addition, in the retinue of the underground king there are guards, demons and others.
According to Japanese myths, after death, no one takes the soul of a person. The deceased independently gets to the underworld. Its path runs through a desert plain, mountains or something else, but invariably the road leads to a river, which is nothing more than a gate to the world of the dead. Crossing the water is possible in three ways - by crossing the bridge, swimming or finding a ford. The deceased has no choice - only the righteous go along the bridge, and real villains get to swim. Those who have committed minor transgressions are ford.
The dead, who reached the underworld, are met by an old woman. She undresses people and escorts to Emma for trial. What is curious enough: men go to Emma, but women go to his sister.
Ancient representations, legends and myths are reflected in modern Japanese art. For example, Yami-anime images are known around the world. A homeless god in cartoons and comics appears as a kind of “horror story” for naughty children and adolescents, although he has a good heart.
Who is portrayed in the anime?
Modern Japanese cartoons are not a transmission of myths, legends or traditional Buddhist representations. Rather, the authors of the stories draw inspiration from the ancient culture and the images present in it.
Such works, inspired by legends, are the series and the comic books of the same name "Homeless God." The pit in this work appears as a wandering deity Yato, trying to get people to worship and build a sanctuary.