Editing Yama in world religions (section)

==Background==
Yama is the Hindu god of Death and [[Justice]], and is responsible for the dispensation of [[Ṛta|law]] and punishment of sinners in his abode, [[Naraka (Hinduism)|Naraka]]. Yama is also one of the oldest deities in the pantheon and some of his earliest appearances are found in the [[Rigveda]]. From there, he has remained a significant deity, appearing in some of the most important texts of Hinduism which include the ''[[Ramayana]]'', the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and the ''[[Puranas]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Yama: The History of an Ancient God|url=http://citragupta.com/yama-the-history-of-an-ancient-god.html|access-date=2021-03-17|website=Citragupta|language=en|archive-date=8 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190908061922/http://citragupta.com/yama-the-history-of-an-ancient-god.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Yama|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Yama/|access-date=2021-03-17|website=World History Encyclopedia}}</ref>

Yama is also one of the [[Lokapala]]s (guardians of the directions), appointed as the protector of the southern direction. Yama is described as having four arms, protruding fangs, and complexion of storm clouds with a wrathful expression; surrounded by a garland of flames; dressed in red, yellow, or blue garments; riding a water-buffalo and holding a sword, noose and a mace to capture the souls of those who have sinned.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Warrier |first1=Shrikala |title=Kamandalu: The Seven Sacred Rivers of Hinduism |date=December 20, 2014 |publisher=Mayur University London; First edition |isbn=978-0953567973 |pages=291}}</ref> Legends describe him as the twin of [[Yamuna in Hinduism|Yamuna]], a river goddess associated with life, and the son of the Sun god [[Surya]] and [[Saranyu]]. Other than Yamuna, he also has many siblings, such as the [[Ashvins]], [[Shani]], [[Shraddhadeva Manu]], [[Revanta]] and [[Tapati]]. Some of his major appearances include in the tales of the [[Pandavas]], [[Savitri and Satyavan|Savitri Satyavan]] and the sage [[Markandeya]]. His assistant is [[Chitragupta]], another deity associated with death.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-12-05|title=Lord Chitragupta - Who helps Lord Yamaraj to maintain karmic accounts|url=https://detechter.com/lord-chitragupta-who-helps-lord-yamaraj-to-maintain-karmic-accounts/|access-date=2021-03-17|website=Detechter|language=en-US}}</ref>