Hindu mythology
In the Hindu scriptures known collectively as 'Vedas', the lord of death is called Yama, or Yamaraj (literally "the lord of death" wink .
A modern depiction of Yamaraja's Court, by Dominique Amendola
A modern depiction of Yamaraja's Court, by Dominique Amendola
Yamaraj rides a black buffalo and carries a rope lasso to carry the soul back to his abode called "Yamalok". It is his agents, the Yamaduts, who carry the souls back to Yamalok. Here, all the accounts of the person's good and bad deeds are stored and maintained by Chitragupta, which allow Yamaraj to decide where the soul has to reside in his next life, following the theory of reincarnation.
It is believed that souls may experience re-birth in hellish, or heavenly worlds on returning to the Earth again, depending upon their actions having been of a good or bad nature in this lifetime. The ones who practice good karma and bhakti throughout their lives are granted Moksha, liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth and all the suffering and limitation entailed in embodied worldly existence. Yama is also mentioned in the Mahabharata as a great philosopher and devotee of Sri Krishna.
In Japan
In Kojiki, after giving birth to the fire-god Hinokagutsuchi, the goddess Izanami dies from wounds of its fire and enters the perpetual night realm called Yaminokuni that the gods thereto retire. After Izanagi, her husband, failed in the attempt to reclaim her from the land of Yomi (the underworld, to which he travels and discovers his wife as not-so visually appealing anymore), in a brief argument with Izanagi, she claimed to take 1000 lives every day signifying her position as the goddess of death.
Another popular death personification is Enma (Yama), also known as Enma Ou and Enma Daiou (Enma King, Enma Great King — translations of Yama Rājā). He originated as Yama in Hinduism, later became Yanluo in China, and Enma in Japan. He is from Chinese Buddhism, and before that, from India. Enma rules the underworld, which makes him similar to Hades, and he decides whether someone dead goes to heaven or to hell. A common saying parents use in Japan to scold children is that Enma will cut off their tongue in the afterlife if they lie.
There are also death gods called shinigami, which are closer to the Western tradition of the Grim Reaper. Shinigami (often plural) are common in modern Japanese arts and fiction, and essentially absent from traditional mythology.
In Slavic paganism
Old Slavic tribes viewed Death as a woman in white clothes, with a never-fading green sprout in her hand. The touch of the sprout would put a human to an everlasting sleep. This image survived Christianization well into the Middle Ages, only being replaced by the more traditional European image of a walking skeleton as late as in the 15th century.
[edit]
Yu Yamasaki Community Member 
|
|
