Yama or Yamaraja is another popular deva sometimes called the King of the Death. Yama or Yamaraja rides on a buffalo. Yama right hand holds a banner of a human head, and his left hand holds a Tarjani pasa.

Yama is also responsible for ruling over all the Preta realms. The Sanskrit word ‘yama’ stands also for twin rulers. It means that the king of the death governs hells as well as ghost realms together with his sister. He himself rules over dead males and his sister being responsible for talking care of dead females. King Yama lives in palace surrounded by cakravala i.e. an iron chained mountain in the south of Jambudvipa. As he rules over the hells he does not enjoy the fruits of his meritorious karma. Because in his past lives, he created evil karmic forces and he had to endure the effects of past karma during three periods of time. When he was in suffering, his palace naturally changed into an iron city of burning flame.

According to the version of some legend, it is said that he was originally a king of Vaisali. At one time he happened to be engaged in a bloody war. He wished he were the master of hell and was accordingly reborn as Yama in hell, together with his generals and army.

According to the Tibetan legends, however, the king Yama was subdued by Yamantaka, a wrathful manifestation of Manjushree Bodhisattva.