Garuda Puran: Yama's Court, Chitragupta and the Results of Our Actions

People remember Yama with fear, but the Garuda Puran calls him Dharmaraja: the god of justice, partial to no one. This part concerns his justice and the principle of karma.

Yama, the king of dharma

Yama is the son of the sun. The text says he appears to the virtuous in a gentle, handsome form, welcoming them, and to the wicked in a fearsome form, because of their own deeds. Even Yama's appearance is a mirror of our actions.

Chitragupta's record

Chitragupta is Yama's record-keeper, who keeps account of every action of every being. The text says the sun, moon, fire, wind, sky, earth, water, day, night, the twilights and dharma itself are all witnesses to our deeds. Even what is done in secret is not hidden from them.

In practice: do right even when no one is watching; conscience and nature see everything.

The actions the Garuda Puran warns against

The text lists actions that lead to suffering and downfall:

• Insulting or neglecting parents, teachers and elders.
• Seizing another's wealth, land or rights; keeping what was entrusted to you.
• Betrayal, false witness, fraud and deceit.
• Cruelty and violence towards innocent beings and animals.
• Turning away the hungry, the thirsty, those seeking refuge or guests.
• Insulting and exploiting women.
• Promising charity and not giving it; destroying water sources, trees and public places.
• Intoxication, gambling and ruining others' lives.

For each kind of wrong a hell is named with its punishment (such as Tamisra, Raurava, Kumbhipaka). The purpose of these descriptions is not to frighten but to show that the pain we give others comes back to us.

The fruit of good deeds

In equal detail the text describes the deeds that bring a good destination: speaking truth, serving parents, charity, hospitality, pilgrimage, vows, devotion to God, kindness to all beings, and doing one's duty honestly. Yama himself honours such people and sends them to heaven or to the Lord's abode.

Repentance and reform

The Garuda Puran also gives hope: through sincere repentance, atonement, remembering God's name and living by dharma from now on, a person can reform. It is possible to return to the right path at any point in life.

What this part teaches

• Yama is the god of justice, not of fear; to one who lives by dharma he is gentle.
• Every action has a witness, so be honest even when alone.
• The pain we give others returns, and so does the happiness.
• The road to reform is always open: repentance, service and God's name.