How did Yamaraj die? Know its Gayaji connection

Yamaraj is known as the god of death. If Yamaraj himself is the god of death, then how is his death possible? This may seem a bit ridiculous, but a story of Yamaraj's death is narrated in the Vedas and Puranas.

Before telling this story, it is necessary to know some information about Yamaraj. Yamaraj had a twin sister known as Yamuna. Yamaraj rides a buffalo and is worshipped by various names like Yama, Dharmaraj, Mrityunjaya and Kaal.

In ancient times, there was a sage named Shwet Muni who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and lived on the banks of the Godavari river. When the time came for his death, Yamaraj sent Mrityunjaya (death messenger) to take his life. But Shwet Muni did not want to give up his life yet, so he started chanting the Mahamrityunjaya mantra. When Mrityupash reached Shwet Muni's ashram, he saw that Bhairav ​​Baba was guarding the ashram outside.

Being bound by religion and duty, Mrityupash tried to kill Shwet Muni, but at that moment Bhairav ​​Baba attacked him and knocked Mrityupash unconscious. Mrityupash fell to the ground and died.

Seeing this, Yamaraj became very angry and himself reached Shwet Muni's ashram. He tied Bhairav ​​Baba and also threw a noose of death on him to kill Shwet Muni. But Shwet Muni called out to his beloved Lord Shiva and Lord Shiva immediately sent his son Kartikeya.

On Kartikeya's arrival, a fierce battle took place between Yamaraj and Kartikeya. Yamaraj could not withstand Kartikeya and fell to the ground due to Kartikeya's attack, which led to his death. When Lord Surya received the news of Yamaraj's death, he was extremely distressed. Through meditation, he came to know that Yamaraj had tried to kill Shwet Muni against the will of Lord Shiva, due to which he had to suffer the wrath of Lord Shiva.

Yamaraj is the son of Lord Surya. To solve this problem, Suryadev went to Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu advised him to please Lord Shiva by performing penance. Suryadev performed severe penance of Lord Shiva, which pleased Lord Shiva and asked him to appear before him and ask for a boon.

Then Suryadev requested, 'O Mahadev, due to the death of Yamaraj, a great imbalance has spread on the earth. To maintain balance on the earth, give rebirth to Yamaraj.' Lord Shiva ordered Nandi to bring water from the Yamuna river and sprinkled that water on Yamaraj's body, which brought Yamaraj back to life.

A famous temple of Yamaraj in India is located in the Gaya district of Bihar, which is known as the Yamaraj Temple. This temple is located near the Vishnupada Temple in the city of Gaya and is very popular among pilgrims who come for Shraddha rituals.Currently, Bihar government has renamed it as a Gayaji. Apart from this, there is also a temple dedicated to Yamaraj in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, which is part of the Ranganathaswamy temple complex. In these temples, Yamaraj is worshipped to remove the fear of death and to attain spiritual peace.