Written by London Swaminathan
Post No. 16,282
Date uploaded in London – 8 October 2026
Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
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Words beginning with letter Y continued………………….
Yakshma /illness
Yakṣma (यक्ष्म) in the Rigveda and the Atharvaveda frequently denotes ‘illness’, in general, perhaps as rendering the body emaciated. A hundred kinds of Yakṣma are referred to in the Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā, and ayakṣma in the Kāṭhaka-saṃhitā, denotes ‘free from disease’.
In the Yajurveda-saṃhitās an account is given of the origin of Yakṣma, which is distinguished as of three kinds—
- Rāja-yakṣma, ‘royal Yakṣma’,
- Pāpa-yakṣma, ‘evil Yakṣma’
- and Jāyenya, most probably ‘syphilis’.
The second of the series is elsewhere unknown, and can hardly be defined, for it merely means ‘serious or deadly disease’. Cf. also Ajñātayakṣma.
Yakṣma (यक्ष्म):—[from yakṣ] 1. yakṣma m. sickness, disease in general or Name of a large class of diseases ([probably] of a consumptive nature), [Ṛg-veda; Atharva-veda; Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā]
2) [v.s. …] pulmonary disease, consumption, [Taittirīya-saṃhitā; Kāṭhaka etc.]
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Yama in Yoga
Yama (यम) refers to “self-restraint”. It is the first of the eight means of attaining mental concentration. The rest are “niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna” and “samādhi”. Yamas are usually said to be ten.
Yama (यम, “forbearance”) is a Sanskrit word referring to “respect for others”. It is one of the eight brances of yoga, also known as the eightfold-path (aṣṭānga yoga).
Yama is of ten kinds:
- ahiṃsā (nonviolence)
- satya (truthfulness)
- asteya (not stealing)
- brahmacarya (celibacy when single, not cheating on one’s partner)
- kṣamā (forgiveness)
- dhṛti (fortitude)
- dayā (compassion)
- ārjava (non-hypocrisy, sincerity)
- mitāhāra (measured diet)
- śauca (purity, cleanliness).
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Yama, Vedic God
Yama (यम, “binder, restraint”):—He is the Vedic deity of death and judges them before his throne. He represents the embodiment of righteousness (Dharma). He is the son of Vivasvat, the Sun God, his brother is Manu and his twin sister is Yamī. He is with his scribe Citragupta, meaning Hidden Picture. All our good and bad thoughts are pictured in Citra Gupta’s Super computer which can store billions and billions bits of information. When the soul goes up this picture Citra Gupta also goes up and this decides our future in the heaven or Yama Loka.
Yama is the son of the resplendent Sun god —Vivasvat (Rig Veda 10.14.5), the embodiment of social morality represented as one of the aspects of the Sun and envisaged as the progenitor of humankind. Yama’s brother is the Lawgiver, Manu, who shares with him the title of progenitor of humankind.
Yama (यम) controls our lives and gives the result of our lives. In the Ṛgveda, god Yama is prayed for leading the devotees to the path through which their ancestors departed. In the Ṛgveda, two dogs of Yama are referred to as yamadūta i.e., the messenger of Yama.
He plays major role in the stories of Nachiketas (Katha Upanishad), Satyavan Savitri and Yakshaprashna
Brahmins worship him thrice everyday facing South reciting Yama Vandhana
यमय नमः । यमाय धर्मराजाय मृत्यवे चान्तकाय च । वैवस्वताय कालाय सर्वभूतक्षयाय च । औदुम्बराय दध्नाय नीलाय परमेष्ठिने । वृकोदराय चित्राय चित्रगुप्ताय वै नमो नमः ॥ चित्रगुप्ताय वै नम ॐ नम इति ॥
yamāya namaḥ | yamāya dharma-rājāya mṛtyave cāntakāya ca |
vaivasvatāya kālāya sarva-bhūta-kṣayāya ca ||
audumbarāya dadhnāya nīlāya parameṣṭhine |
vṛkodarāya citrāya citra-guptāya vai namo namaḥ ||
citra-guptāya vai nama oṃ nama iti
Yama (यम): The Restrainer or Controller; he who keeps mankind in check.
Dharmaraja (धर्मराज): The King of Righteousness or Justice.
Mrityu (मृत्यु): Death personified.
Antaka (अन्तक): The Ender; he who brings life to a termination.
Vaivasvata (वैवस्वत): The son of Vivasvat (the Sun God).
Kala (काल): Time, the ultimate devourer.
Sarvabhutakshaya (सर्वभूतक्षय): The destroyer or dissolver of all living beings.
Audumbara (औदुम्बर): The one possessing immense strength (often symbolized by the glaucous fig tree).
Dadhna (दध्न): The sustainer. English word DEATH is derived from this Sanskrit word.
Neela (नील): The dark or blue-black complexioned one.
Paramesthi (परमेष्ठी): The supreme lord or high official of cosmic order.
Vrikodara (वृकोदर): The one with a vast appetite or a powerful physical frame.
Chitra (चित्र): The wonderful or multifaceted one.
Chitragupta (चित्रगुप्त): Frequently invoked alongside Yama; his cosmic scribe who records all human deeds
In Sangam Tamil literature and Tirukkural we come across him.
Sangam Age Tamil Books, which are 2000 years old, have lots of references to God of Death; they clearly meant Vedic God because like Vedic God he is assigned South as his residence.
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Yamuna (Jamuna)
Tamils never mentioned Sindhu/Indus River in Sangam literature. They have no knowledge of Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization. But they mentioned River Ganga in at least 17 places and Yamuna t one place. They not only mentioned it with a strange name THOZUNAI with Gopi’s bathing incident in Akananuru book. This raises many questions. Gopis are known to Tamils even 2000 years ago. So Bhagavatha Purana must be placed in BCE period. Yamuna’s reference in the Vedas explode all Aryan migration theories. Eastern direction is assigned to Indra which shows they migrated to western countries from the Gangetic plains.
1) Yamunā (यमुना):—[from yam] f. Name of a river commonly called the Jumnā (in, [Harivaṃśa] and, [Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa] identified with Yamī q.v.; it rises in the Himālaya mountains among the Jumnotri peaks at an elevation of 10,849 feet, and flows for 860 miles before it joins the Ganges at Allahabad, its water being there clear as crystal, while that of the Ganges is yellowish; the confluence of the two with the river Sarasvatī, supposed to join them underground, is called tri-veṇī q.v.), [Ṛg-veda] etc. etc.
Yamunā (यमुना, ‘twin’) the name of a river, so called as running parallel with the Ganges, is mentioned thrice in the Rigveda. According to the Rigveda, the Tṛtsus and Sudās won a great victory against their foes on the banks of Yamunā; there is no reason whatever to accept Hopkins’ view that the Yamunā here was another name of the Paruṣṇī (Ravi). In the Atharvaveda the salve (Āñjana) of the Yamunā (Yāmuna) is mentioned along with that of Trikakud (Traikakuda) as of value. In the Aitareya and the Śatapatha-brāhmaṇas the Bharatas are famed as victorious on the Yamunā. Other Brāhmaṇas also mention this river. In the Mantrapāṭha the Sālvas are spoken of as dwelling on its banks. Yamuna river is black in colour and Ganga river is white in colour. Kalidasa used this geographical fact to compare them with Krishna/black and Balarama/white in his work.
Yamuna (जमुना): A river (also spelled Jamuna), joining with the Ganges. Literally meaning “twins” in Sanskrit, as it runs parallel to the Ganges
The river Is mentioned also by the name Kālindī in Eran Stone inscription of Budhagupta. The river is identical with modern Jumna or Yamunā, joining the Gaṅgā near Prayag (Allahabad) the Triveṇī Saṃgama.
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Yaudheya
Yaudheya (यौधेय).—The Yaudheyas seem to have been in existence from the time of Pāṇini, who speaks of them as an āyudha-jīvin Saṃgha. This expression is the same as śastr-ōpajīvin used by Kautilya. And both denote a tribal corporation “subsisting on arms”. Originally they seem to have been a tribal band of mercenaries and constituted one kind of a king’s army. In the time of Pāṇini they were an ēka-rāja Kṣatriya tribe which means that so far as their tribal constitution was concerned they were governed by one ruler, but exercised no political power.
Yaudheya coins are ancient copper and silver currencies issued between the 2nd century BCE and the 4th century CE by the Yaudheyas.
• Design & Deities: Most coins feature Karttikeya (the Hindu war god also called Brahmanyadeva or Skanda) holding a spear or javelin on the obverse, often accompanied by a peacock. In coins he is shown with his six heads.
• Inscriptions: They commonly bear the Brahmi legend “Yaudheya Ganasya Jaya” (Victory of the Yaudheya tribe), celebrating military success.
• Symbols: Reverses often display a deer, an elephant, a bull, or an architectural temple structure.
• Denominations: Minted primarily in copper and bronze as punch-marked or cast coins, varying in weight from roughly 3 grams to over 11 grams
They are identified with the Jats clan Joiyas or Johiya of Bahawalpur and Multan Divisions (Pakistan) and Bikaner, Rajasthan (India). Yaudheyas were the rulers of South-Eastern Punjab and Rajasthan. Even today these areas are inhabited by the Johiyas.
1) Yaudheya (यौधेय).—A son of Dharmaputra. Mahābhārata. Ādi Parva, Chapter 95, Verse 76, states that this prince was born to Dharmaputra by Devikādevī, daughter of Govāsana, king of Śibi land.
2) Yaudheya (यौधेय).—A native of Yaudheya country. Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapter 52, Verse 14, mentions, that the Yaudheyas had participated in Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya.
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Yayati (Two Yayatis)
Scholars say that there were two Yayatis; the one in the Rig Veda is different from Yayati of Mahabharata. But later stories merged them adding to confusion. They showed him as King of Sp;ar Dynasty and Lunar Dynasty.
1) Yayati was a Kuru prince, of the Chandra/Lunar dynasty. He once happened to rescue Devayani from a well in the forest. Later, with her father’s consent he married her. He broke a promise to his father-in-law, that of remaining faithful to his wife, by marrying Sharmishta, the daughter of the King Vrishaparva of the Asuras. For this he was cursed with premature old age, which could be alleviated if one of his sons would agree to bear it instead. Only Puru, his youngest son (by Sharmishta) would agree.
2) Yayati was a king of the solar dynasty, the son of Nahusha, and an ancestor of Rama. Nabhaga is his son.
Yayāti (ययाति).—The middle son of Nahuṣa and Virajā, the mindborn daughter of Ajyapas: married Śarmiṣṭhā, daughter of Vṛṣaparvan,1 and had three sons by her; pleased with him Indra gave him a golden chariot yoked with swift horses and which became the ratha of the Paurava kings.2 Became king after his father: desire for more territory; placed his younger brothers in charge of the four quarters of the kingdom; nature of his good rule described; in the course of a hunting expedition, he heard the cry of a girl coming out of a well and going near it found a girl inside standing helpless and naked; he gave her his upper cloth to wear and lifted her up. She was Devayānī, the daughter of Śukra and she became his wife and bore him two sons, Yadu and Turvasu.
Śukra in offering his daughter to the king asked him not to share his bed with Śarmiṣṭhā. In a weak moment, forgetting his promise, he yielded to the entreaties of Śarmiṣṭhā and on this Devayānī departed to Śukra’s place. Yayāti followed her and was cursed by Śukra to become old; but Śukra said that he could take the youth of somebody by exchanging it for his old age. He enquired of all his sons and all except Pūru refused to comply with his request. With Pūru’s youth he enjoyed for long the company of Devayānī; narrated to her an old story of an ewe found in a well, loving a ram, who was not faithful at first but who spent ultimately a long time of enjoyment with her. He compared himself to that ram and said that he should thereafter bestow his thought on Hari. So he returned his youth to Pūru and led a life of penance at Bhṛgutunga after anointing Pūru on the throne and appointing his other sons in different parts of the kingdom.
Yayati, son of Nahuṣa, was dated 1800 BCE by Morton Smith in his book Dates and Dynasties in Earliest India.
D R Mankad in his well-researched book Date of Rgveda (year 1952) says this:
Under RV.IX.47 add the following:
It should be noted this Yayati is not the Yayari who was the great grandson of Pururuva. The name of the father of this Yayati was also Nahusa, but this Nahusa is called Manava, i.e, son of Manu in the Anukramani and this Manu, in his turn called son of Samvaruna Therefore this Yayati is was different from Yayati, the great grandson of Pururuva. He thus can be a contemporary of Andhigu. It is this Yayati who gave his daughter Madhavi (Mahabharata) to Galava, who was married her in turn to , Haryasva, Divodasa, Usinara and Visvamitra. Therefore this Yayati and other Rsis of this hymn belong to Rama period. This preserves the genealogy:- Yayati—Nahusa—Manu—Samvarana—i.e. four generations.
Since both of them had fathers named Yayati, that led to big confusion. Story about Madhavi also confirmed there were two Yayatis, one from solar dynasty and another from lunar dynasty.
Mādhavī (माधवी).—Daughter of King Yayāti. A lady recluse she always wore deer-hide as her garment and went on observing a Vrata called Mṛgavrata: Yayāti gave this daughter in marriage to Gālava. (Śloka 12, Chapter 145, Udyoga Parva). Mādhavī bore a son named Vasumān alias Vasumanas to Haryaśva, King of Ayodhyā. She got of Divodāsa, King of Kāśī, another son named Pratardana; of the King of Uśīnara she got a son named Śibi. Besides these she got a son named Aṣṭaka of Viśvāmitra. (See under Gālava). When the accrued merit of Yayāti was exhausted and he fell down from heaven Mādhavī consented to part with half of her stock of merit to Yayāti.
To be continued…………………..
Tags. Yakshma, Yaudheya, Yayati , HINDU DICTIONARY IN ENGLISH AND TAMIL-125; இந்து மத கலைச்சொல் அகராதி-125, Yamuna
