Yamadūtī
Yamadūtī · yama-dūtī, “the messenger of Yama”
Grammar: feminine noun; yama with dūtī (messenger). Also printed Yamadūtikā.
Meaning: the fourth poison fang of a snake.
In the scriptures: Kaśyapa Prajāpati teaches Gautama that four of a snake’s teeth are poison fangs: Makarī, Karālī, Kālarātrī and Yamadūtī. Yamadūtī, the fourth, has Yama as its adhipati. It forms at four months and is smaller than the others, resting beside the snake’s left eye. Its bite mark is like a tortoise, its nature sannipāta, its colour black, and it is the Śūdrā of the fangs. Against its bite mantras, medicine and treatment are useless, and the vaidya turns away on seeing the mark. The food for one so bitten is the food given in sannipāta (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 33).
If the bite of Yamadūtī has fallen, those who know need not treat him: say that he will die (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 35).
Related terms: Makarī · Karālī · Kālarātrī · Sannipāta
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 33, 35