Yāma is the third of the six heavenly worlds of the

desire realm The desire realm (Sanskrit: कामधातु, ''kāmadhātu'') is one of the trailokya or three realms (Sanskrit: धातु, ''dhātu'', Tibetan: ''khams'') in Buddhist cosmology into which a being caught in '' '' may be reborn. The o ...

Buddhist cosmology Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the Universe according to Buddhist Tripitaka, scriptures and Atthakatha, commentaries. It consists of a temporal and a spatial cosmology. The temporal cosmology describes the ...

. It is located between

Trāyastriṃśa The (Sanskrit; Pali ), (''Tushita''; ''Heaven of the Thirty-three''), is an important celestial realm of the devas in Buddhist cosmology. The word ' is an adjective formed from the numeral ', or "33" and can be translated in English as "bel ...

and

Tushita Tuṣita (Sanskrit and Pāli) or Tushita is one of the six deva-worlds of the Buddhist Desire realm (Kāmadhātu), located between the Yāma heaven and the heaven. Like the other heavens, Tuṣita is said to be reachable through meditation. It ...

. This world is variously translated as "wonderful times", "virtuous", "excellent times" or "of the hours." It is said that the Yāma heaven is always illuminated so that there is no division of day and night. The gods here enjoy satisfaction of the five desires, which arise in relation to the five sense organs.

Etymology

''Yāma'' is a Sanskrit technical term referring to a measurement of time, similar to a "watch" in English. A 24-hour day is divided into eight three-hour "watches", which makes a ''yāma'' equal to 1/4 of a day or night. An equivalent unit of time is a

prahar Prahara is a Sanskrit term for a unit of time, or subdivision of the day, approximately three hours long. Definition The day is divided into eight parts: four ''prahara''s for the day, and four for the night. The first ''prahara'' of the day begi ...

, which is synonymous with the modern

pahar Pahar (Bengali পহর, Hindi/ Nepali: पहर, Punjabi: ਪਹਾੜ, Urdu: ), which is more commonly pronounced peher () is a traditional unit of time used in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. One ''pahar'' nominally equals three hours, and ...

. A Chinese text referred to as the ''Sse-kiau-tsih'' reads that the gods of this world distinguish time by the opening and shutting of flowers. There are several Chinese translations / kanji transcriptions of the name Yāma, including but not limited to 焰摩天, 夜摩天, 唱樂天, 時分天, and 炎魔.

Descriptions

Yāma is the first heaven that functions as a disconnect between the swarga heavens and the human realm. The deities here are not involved in conflict with the

asuras Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, ...

and are said to "have arrived at divine bliss" (dibbaṃ sukhaṃ) (Vibh-a 18:6,1). According to the ''Visakhuposatha Sutta'' of the

Pāli Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...

, time there runs very differently than on Earth: "That which among men is two hundred years...is one night and day of the Yāma devas, their month has thirty of those days, their year twelve of those months; the lifespan of the Yāma devas is two thousand of those heavenly years." A month in this world may be calculated to be 6,000 human years. A Yāma deva year is 72,000 years, and a Yāma deva lifespan is 144,000,000 years. According to the Dāna Sutta, those who practice generosity with the intention of continuing a family custom of such deeds create the karmic conditions to be reborn in Yāma Heaven.

Mahāyāna

The Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra provides a few further details. Yāma Heaven includes the river Jambū, and a celestial palace that features a canopy decorated with five hundred million jewels, compared with that found in

Amitābha Amitābha (, "Measureless" or "Limitless" Light), also known as Amituofo in Chinese language, Chinese, Amida in Japanese language, Japanese and Öpakmé in Tibetan script, Tibetan, is one of the main Buddhahood, Buddhas of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddh ...

Pure Land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...

. According to the Avataṃsaka Sūtra in 60 fascicles, bodhisattvas of the fourth stage may become the ruler of this heaven.

References

Buddhist cosmology {{Buddhism topics

Etymology

Descriptions

Mahāyāna

See also

References