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Monday, April 29, 2024

Y for Yamadharmaraja’s Sabha - Mahabharata Mashup

Namaskar, 

Yamadharmaraja is the son of Vivasvat (Sun God) and has a twin sister, Yami. He is the god of death and justice (hence the addition of Dharma Raja beside his name). In movies, Yama is presented as the ruler of hell (Naraka), where he orders punishments based on the crimes committed by humans when they are alive. Chitragupta is his trusted minister who keeps a record of all living beings spanning across the yugas. 

After Brahma’s Sabha, Dwaraka, Indra’s Sabha, Kubera’s Sabha, and Varuna’s Sabha, it’s time to get a sneak peek into Yama Sabha. 

Yamadharmaraja’s Sabha was also designed and built by the celestial architect Viswakarman. Narada said that the Sabha is over a hundred yojanas square (one yojana is ~8 kilometers) and as glorious as the sun. However, it has an appealing temperature that’s neither hot nor cold (it is not filled with red hot flames!). 

Contrary to the fictional representations, this Sabha doesn’t cause excessive emotions. In fact, it eliminates painful emotions like grief, distress, decay, ill feelings, etc. There is plenty of food and drink for everyone. Whatever people desire, they can find it in this Sabha. 

Many dead rulers like Yayati, Nahusha, Puru, Nibhi, Bharata, Baghiratha, etc., are found in Yama’a Sabha. Many rishis from Brahma’s Sabha often visit this place to meet Yamadharmaraja. Narada told Yudhistira that even their father, Pandu, was present in this Sabha. Surprisingly, this is where people with mixed traits (good and bad) seem to go, and none of them are tortured (as shown in the movies). 

Apart from the dead and celestial beings, the Sabha also has the cosmic Wheel of Time (Kala Chakra) and spirits of various trees, plants, shrubs, and the kusa grass. People who die during the winter solstice period end up in Yama’s Sabha (which is why Bhishma wanted to die after Uttarayana began). 

The best feature of Yamadharmaraja’s Sabha is that it can travel anywhere and move from one space to another in the celestial realms. Narada added that Viswakarman built the Sabha after deep tapasya and filled it with garlands, sacred incense, and divine music. 

Death is inevitable and a part of life, something Mahabharata highlights several times throughout. 

How can I not share a video snippet after mentioning movies?

This scene is from the movie Yamaleela (1994), a socio-fantasy comedy directed by SV Krishna Reddy. Late Kaikala Satyananarayana played the role of Yamadharmaraja. He was the go-to actor for the role and brought Yama alive on the screen in many movies. 

I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z.

The AI images are made on Bing.


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