Yameswar

Yameswar is a Shiva temple of Puri, one of the five Shiva temples associated with the Jagannath temple. Yameswar is regarded as the chief of the Ashta Sambhu, the eight Shiva shrines said to surround the sacred field of Shrikshetra. The Puri shrine is dated by one listing to the tenth or eleventh century and its rituals are closely tied to those of Jagannath. Worship of Yameswar is believed to relieve the fear of premature death, and many local devotees visit on Yama Dwitiya, two days after Diwali.

According to local belief, Yameswar is the Shiva who stands between the devotee and Yama, the god of death, and worship here is said to protect against untimely death. The idea is common in Shaiva devotion, where Shiva is held to have defeated Yama on behalf of the young sage Markandeya, though the...