Mṛtyu, is a Sanskrit word meaning death. Mṛtyu, or Death, is often personified as the deities Mara (मर) and Yama (यम) in Dharmic religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.

Etymology

The Vedic mṛtyú, along with Avestan mərəθiiu and Old Persian məršiyu comes from the Proto-Indo-Iranian word for death, *mr̥tyú-, which is ultimately derived from the Indo-European root *mer- ("to die") and thus is further related to Ancient Greek μόρος and Latin mors.

Literature

Vedas

Mrtyu is invoked in the hymns of the Rigveda: "Depart, Mṛtyu, by a different path; by that which is your own, and distinct from the path of the gods; Ispeak to you who have eyes, who have ears; do no harm to our offspring, nor to our male progeny."

Upanishads

The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (a mystical appendix to the Shatapatha Brahmana and likely the oldest of the Upanishads) has a creation myth where "Death" takes the shape of a horse, and includes an identification of the Ashvamedha horse sacrifice with the Sun:

Padma Purana

Mrtyu fights in the war between the devas and the asuras in the legend of Jalandhara.

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata references a legend regarding a dispute between Time, Mrityu, Yama, Ikshvaku, and a Brahmana. Mrityu is female in this legend.

Notes and references