Yama, King of the Law, Lord of Hell, presiding over the various types of cyclic existence. (See Outline Page - Yama, Worldly Being, Judge of the Hell Realm).

At the center is the figure of Yama, blue, wrathful, with one face and two hands, seated on a throne. At the sides are two attendant figures. In the upraised right hand he holds a wooden butchers stick for marking the carcass before cutting. In the left hand is a mirror for reflecting the truth of good and bad actions. The heaven of Sukhavati, the pureland of Amitabha is above. The Animal and Human realms are to the right of Yama. The Asuras have been placed on the left of Yama and below are tree.

Below all of that and taking up half of the composition of the painting are the Eight Hot and Eight Cold Hells along with the the Occasional Hells which stand between the lower hell realms and the higher human and animal realms.

This painting is not a depiction of the Wheel of Life but rather a painting highlighting Yama and the Hell Realms.

Jeff Watt 6-2009