{{Short description|Buddhist, Taoist, Chinese, and general East Asian death deity}} {{Redirect|Yan-lo|the antagonist dragon character of the 2006 Disney Channel film|Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior}} {{for|the Hindu god|Yama}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} [[File:Ten Kings of Hell, Yanluo Wang (Enra Ō) by Lu Xinzhong.jpg|thumb|14th-century Chinese Yuan dynasty portrait of King Yama. One of a series of paintings of the "Ten Kings of Hell" by Lu Xinzhong]]
In East Asian and Buddhist mythology, '''Yama'''{{efn-lr|{{lang-zh|c=閻魔/閻摩|p=Yánmó}}}} is the '''King of Hell''' and a ''dharmapala'' (wrathful god) said to judge the dead, presiding over the hellish realms and over the cycle of life and rebirth. He goes by other names as well, including '''Yanluo Wang''',{{efn-lr|{{lang-zh|c=閻羅王|p=Yánluó Wáng}}}} '''Yan Wang''',{{efn-lr|{{lang-zh|c=閻王|p=Yánwáng}}}} '''Master Yan Wang''',{{efn-lr|{{lang-zh|c=閻王爺|p=Yánwángyé}}}} '''Lord Yan''',{{efn-lr|{{lang-zh|c=閻君|p=Yánjūn}}}} and '''Yanluo, Son of Heaven'''.{{efn-lr|{{lang-zh|c=閻羅天子|p=Yánluó Tiānzǐ}}}}
Although based on the god Yama of the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Yama has developed different myths and different functions from the Hindu deity. He has also spread far more widely and is known in most countries where Buddhism is practiced, including China, Nepal, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Bhutan, Mongolia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
==In Theravāda Buddhism== [[File:Ang Thong (2024) Scenes of Buddhist hell at Wat Muang แดนนรก วัดม่วง - img 07.jpg|thumb|Yama (seated centre) in a judgement scene in Naraka, a depiction at Wat Muang, Thailand]] In the Pali canon, the Buddha states that a person who has ill-treated their parents, ascetics, holy persons, or elders is taken upon his death to Yama.{{efn|See, for example, MN 130 {{harv|Nanamoli|Bodhi|2001|pp=1029–1036}} and AN 3.35 {{harv|Thera|Bodhi|1999|pp=51–53}}, both of which are entitled "Devaduta Sutta" (The Divine Messengers).}} Yama then asks the ignoble person if he ever considered his own ill conduct in light of birth, deterioration, sickness, worldly retribution and death. In response to Yama's questions, such an ignoble person repeatedly answers that he failed to consider the karmic consequences of his reprehensible actions and as a result is sent to a brutal hell "so long as that evil action has not exhausted its result."{{sfn|Nanamoli|Bodhi|2001|p=1032}}
In the Pali commentarial tradition, the scholar Buddhaghosa's commentary to the Majjhima Nikaya describes Yama as a {{IAST|vimānapeta}} ({{lang|sa|विमानपेत}}), a "being in a mixed state", sometimes enjoying celestial comforts and at other times punished for the fruits of his karma. However, Buddhaghosa considered his rule as a king to be just.{{sfn|Nanamoli|Bodhi|2001|p=1341, ''n''. 1206}}
Modern Theravādin countries portray Yama sending old age, disease, punishments, and other calamities among humans as warnings to behave well. At death, they are summoned before Yama, who examines their character and dispatches them to their appropriate rebirth, whether to earth or to one of the heavens or hells. Sometimes there are thought to be two or four Yamas, each presiding over a distinct Hell.{{sfn|Nanamoli|Bodhi|2001|p=1341, ''n''. 1206}}{{efn|According to {{harv|Nanamoli|Bodhi|2001|p=1341 ''n''. 1206}} the Majjhima Nikaya Atthakatha states that "there are in fact four Yamas, one at each of four gates (of hell?)." The paranthetical expression is from the text.}}
==In Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese mythology== {{See also|Yanluo Wang}}
{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=300 | image1 = The Outer Yama Dharmaraja. Central region, Tibet. Mid 17-th century. Private Collection.jpg | image2 = Nariaiji2559.jpg | image3 = King of hell from Vietnam private collection EDAV.jpg | image4 = Bodhisattva Jijang (Kshitigarbha) and the Ten Kings of Hell LACMA AC1994.49.1 (1 of 9).jpg | footer = Clockwise from upper left: Yama, mid-17th century, Tibet, Statue of Yama (Enma) at Nariai-ji, Statue of one of the ten Yama (Diêm Vương) during the Lê - Nguyễn dynasties, Vietnam, Joseon dynasty painting of Bodhisattva Jijang (Kṣitigarbha) and the Ten Kings of Hell.}}
"Yanluo Wang" was sometimes considered to be a position in the celestial hierarchy, rather than an individual. There were said to be cases in which an honest mortal was rewarded the post of Yanluo Wang and served as the judge and ruler of the underworld.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} Some said common people like Bao Zheng, Fan Zhongyan, Zhang Binglin became the Yanluo Wang at night or after death.<ref>[http://www.dharmaseal.org/chinese/boca_publishing/book23/html/7-7.htm {{lang|zh|七閻羅王信仰}}]{{dead link|date=June 2019|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20130808162203/http://cathay.ce.cn/person/200710/09/t20071009_13169137_1.shtml {{lang|zh|中国古代传说中的三大阎王:包公寇准范仲淹}}]<!--this archive doesn't preserve the content--></ref>{{better source needed|reason=Two of these are permanently dead links and the other is a blog, not a reliable source.|date=March 2022}}
They were strongly challenged from the Tang dynasty by a new version influenced by Daoism, which adopted Yanluo Wang to make it the fifth of a set of ten kings ({{Transliteration|zh|shidian Yánluó wáng}} {{lang|zh|十殿阎罗王}}, Guardian king-sorter of the ten chambers) each named at the head of a hell by the Jade Emperor. The other nine kings are: Qinguangwang ({{lang|zh|秦广王}}), Chujiangwang ({{lang|zh|楚江王}}), Songdiwang ({{lang|zh|宋帝王}}), Wuguanwang ({{lang|zh|五官王}}), Bianchengwang ({{lang|zh|卞城王}}), Taishanwang ({{lang|zh|泰山王}}), Pingdengwang ({{lang|zh|平等王}}) Dushiwang ({{lang|zh|都市王}}) Zhuanlunwang ({{lang|zh|转轮王}}), typically Taoist names. They compete with Heidi, another Taoist god of the world of the dead. Yanluo Wang remains nevertheless the most famous, and by far the most present in the iconography.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chenivesse |first1=Sandrine |title=Fengdu: cité de l'abondance, cité de la male mort |journal=Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie |date=1998 |volume=10 |pages=287–339 |doi=10.3406/asie.1998.1137 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177_1998_num_10_1_1137 |language=fr}}</ref>
However, then it disappears completely from the list, giving way to a historical figure, a magistrate appointed during his lifetime as judge of the dead by a superior deity. This magistrate is most often Bao Zheng, a famous judge who lived during the Song dynasty. Sometimes he is accompanied by three assistants named "Old Age", "Illness" and "Death".<ref>{{cite web |script-title=zh:酆都鬼城與道教有何關係 ? |trans-title=Yama is not a "lifetime system"? The history contains more than three people |language=Chinese |url=http://ez-dao.com/daobook/B/qa/(67)%2520-q@a1.htm |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20100930000913/http://ez-dao.com/daobook/B/qa/(67)%2520-q@a1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-09-30 |website=www.wikiwix.com}}</ref>
Yanluo Wang is also regarded as one of the ''Twenty Devas'' ({{lang|zh|二十諸天}} {{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|Èrshí Zhūtiān}}) or the ''Twenty-Four Devas'' ({{lang|zh|二十四諸天}} {{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|Èrshísì zhūtiān}}), a group of protective Dharmapalas, in Chinese Buddhism.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hodous |first1=Lewis |last2=Soothill |first2=William Edward |title=A dictionary of Chinese Buddhist terms: with Sanskrit and English equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali index|date=2004|publisher=RoutledgeCurzon|isbn=0-203-64186-8|location=London|oclc=275253538}}</ref>
Some of these Chinese beliefs subsequently spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. In Japan, he is called Enma ({{lang|ja|閻魔}}, prev. "Yenma"), King Enma ({{lang|ja|閻魔王}}, {{Transliteration|ja|Enma-ō}}), and Great King Enma ({{lang|ja|閻魔大王}}, {{Transliteration|ja|Enma Dai-Ō}}). In Korea, Yan is known as Yeom-ra ({{lang|ko|염라, 閻魔}}) and Great King Yeom-ra ({{lang|ko|염라대왕, 閻羅大王}}, {{Transliteration|ko|Yŏm-ra Daewang}}). In Vietnam, these Buddhist deities are known as {{lang|vi|Diêm La Vương}} {{lang|vi-Hani|(閻羅王)}} or {{lang|vi|Diêm Vương}} {{lang|vi-Hani|(閻王)}}, {{lang|vi|Minh Vương}} {{lang|vi-Hani|(冥王)}} and are venerated as a council of all ten kings who oversee underworld realm of ''âm phủ'', and according to the Vietnamese concept, the ten kings of hell are all governed by {{lang|vi|Phong Đô Đại Đế}} {{lang|vi-Hani|(酆都大帝)}}.<ref>{{cite book|last= |first= |author-link= Bằng Vũ, Triệu Xuân|title=Tuyển tập Vũ Bằng |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PFzB32AUWhkC&q=phong+%C4%91%C3%B4+%C4%91%E1%BA%A1i+%C4%91%E1%BA%BF|year= 2000|publisher= Văn học|isbn=|pages=834|quote=}}</ref>
===Variable identity=== In the syncretic and non-dogmatic world of Chinese religious views, Yanluo Wang's interpretation can vary greatly from person to person. While some recognize him as a Buddhist deity, others regard him as a Taoist counterpart of Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha. Generally seen as a stern deity, Yanluo Wang is also a righteous and fair Supreme Judge in underworld or skillful advocate of Dharma.
==In Tibetan Buddhism== In Tibetan Buddhism Yama occurs in the form of ''Yama Dharmaraja'', also known as ''Kalarupa'',<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Samiksha|date=2020-04-03|title=Interpreting Yama Dharmaraja Thangka|url=https://mandalas.life/2020/interpreting-yama-dharmaraja-thangka/|access-date=2021-11-14|website=Mandalas Life|language=en-EN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Yama Dharmaraja (Buddhist Protector) - Outer (Himalayan Art)|url=https://www.himalayanart.org/items/700009|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.himalayanart.org}}</ref> ''Shinje'' or ''Shin Je Cho Gyal'' (Tibetan: གཤིན་རྗེ་, ''Gshin.rje'').<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Buddhist Protector: Yama Dharmaraja Main Page|url=https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=178|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.himalayanart.org}}</ref> He is both regarded with horror as the prime mover of the cycle of death and rebirth and revered as a guardian of spiritual practice. In the popular mandala of the Bhavachakra, all of the realms of life are depicted between the jaws or in the arms of a monstrous Shinje. Shinje is sometimes shown with a consort, Chamundi, or a sister, Yami,<ref>{{Cite book|author=Barbara Lipton, Nima Dorjee Ragnubs|title=Treasures of Tibetan Art: Collections of the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art|date=1996|publisher=Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art|isbn=9780195097139|page=169}}</ref> and sometimes pursued by Yamantaka (conqueror of death).
<gallery mode=packed heights="160px"> (Toulouse) Yama Gardien de la doctrine - Musée Labit.jpg|Yama (Buddhism) Musée Labit -France Yama tibet.jpg|Yama, Met Museum Kagamibuta netsuke front.jpg|19th century ''kagamibuta netsuke'' depicting Enma </gallery>
He is often depicted with the head of a buffalo, three round eyes, sharp horns entwined with flame, fierce and angry. In his right hand he often has a stick with a skull and in his left a lasso. On his head he has a crown of skulls. In many depictions he is standing on a recumbent bull crushing a man lying on his back. He is also portrayed with an erect penis.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Art of Tibet: A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection|author=Pratapaditya Pal|date=1983|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520051409}}</ref>
==See also== {{Columns list|colwidth=20em| * Bon Festival * City God (China) ({{lang|zh|城隍公}}; Cheng Huang Gong) * Ghost Festival * Heibai Wuchang ({{lang|zh|黑白无常}}) * Jiang Ziwen * Kṣitigarbha ({{lang|zh|地藏王}}) * List of death deities * Meng Po ({{lang|zh|孟婆}}) * Naraka and Avīci * Ox-Head and Horse-Face ({{lang|zh|牛头马面}}) * Yamantaka (Manjushri) * Yomi (Japan) * Zhong Kui ({{lang|zh|钟馗}}) }}
== Notes ==
=== Names in Chinese === {{notelist-lr}}
=== Explanatory notes === {{Notelist}}
== References == {{reflist}}
=== Sources === {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last1=Nanamoli |first1=Bhikkhu |last2=Bodhi |first2=Bhikkhu |year=2001 |title=The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya |location=Boston |publisher=Wisdom Publications |isbn=0-86171-072-X }} * {{cite book |first1=Nyanaponika |last1=Thera |last2=Bodhi |first2=Bhikkhu |year=1999 |title=Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya |location=Walnut Creek, CA |publisher=AltaMira Press |isbn=0-7425-0405-0 }} * {{cite news|title=阎罗王是如何由来的：钟馗和阎王什么关系-历史趣闻网|url=http://wap.lishiquwen.com/news/24627.html|work=lishiquwen.com|access-date=26 January 2022|archive-date=9 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124334/http://wap.lishiquwen.com/news/24627.html|url-status=dead}} * {{cite news |title=道教科仪之十王转案科_斋醮科仪_道教之音_十王转案,十王,冥府,道教科仪 |url=http://www.daoisms.org/article/sort026/info-16433.html |work=www.daoisms.org |archive-date=26 January 2022 |access-date=26 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126055401/https://www.daoisms.org/article/sort026/info-16433.html |url-status=dead }} {{refend}}
== External links == * {{commons-inline}}
{{Buddhism topics}} {{Chinese Buddhist Pantheon}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yama (Buddhism And Chinese Mythology)}} Category:Yama Category:Justice gods Category:Buddhist gods Category:Chinese Buddhist deities Category:Japanese Buddhist deities Category:Death gods Category:Underworld gods Category:Dharmapalas Category:Buddhism and death Category:Twenty-Four Protective Deities Category:Buddhism and Hinduism Category:Horned gods