Yama and Chinese Eschatology
By Sukumari Bhattacharji
Summary
Tracing the journey of Yama from Vedic lore to East Asian mythology, the article compares the gentle Vedic Yama with the stern judge depicted in later Indian epics. It argues that Iranian and Central Asian influences transformed Yama into a punitive figure whose traits were then transmitted to China via Buddhism. In Chinese eschatology Yama became Yanluo Wang, presiding over a complex underworld bureaucracy where souls are judged and punished. The article analyses Chinese texts describing this infernal court and shows how Indian ideas of karma merged with indigenous beliefs about ancestral spirits and Taoist cosmology. It notes that these concepts spread further to Korea and Japan, illustrating the localisation of imported deities. By examining textual parallels and iconography, the article reveals how religious motifs adapt across cultures.
Conclusion
The transformation of Yama into the Chinese Yanluo Wang demonstrates the fluidity of religious symbols. As Buddhism travelled, it carried Indian notions of judgement that were reinterpreted through Chinese beliefs, producing a syncretic eschatology that influenced much of East Asia.