Yama Gayatri Mantra

Yama is the god of death, belonging to an early stratum of Vedic mythology. In Sanskrit, his name can be interpreted to mean "twin".[1] In the Zend-Avesta he is called "Yima".[2] According to the Vishnu Purana, his parents are the sungod Surya[3] and Sanjna, the daughter of Visvakarman, sometimes called "Usha". He is the brother of the current Manu Vaivasvatha and of his older sister Yami, which H. H. Wilson indicates to mean the Yamuna river.[4] According to Harivamsa Purana her name is Daya.[5] In the Vedas, Yama is said to have been the first mortal who died. By virtue of precedence, he became the ruler of the departed,[6] called "Lord of the Pitrs".[7] There is a one-of-a-kind temple in Srivanchiyam, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to Yama.[citation needed]

Mentioned by the Buddha in the Pali canon, Yama subsequently entered Buddhist, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese mythology as a wrathful god under various transliterations. He is otherwise also called as "Dharmaraja".