Dialogues with Death

Abstract

This article compares Hindu and Buddhist narratives involving debate or contest with the gods representing death in each respective tradition. In Hinduism, this is Yama, judge and god of the underworld, while in Buddhism, death, as well as the concept of rebirth and, more broadly, samsara itself, is represented by the malign figure Mara. Through a comparison of Buddhist Pali Canon texts to the Hindu Katha Upanisad, the Savitri episode in the Mahabharata, and brief excerpts of Puranas, I argue that both traditions employed a common trope of debate and contest with a god of death, but used that shared device to emphasize doctrinal beliefs and perspectives unique to their respective traditions. This strongly suggests a shared literary heritage between the two traditions of these mythic figures.