Yama, "the restrainer", (or one of his cognates) is a much feared deity in many belief systems: His responsibilities include fetching the souls of the dead (either by himself or more commonly through the agency of his equally dreaded underlings, the yamadutas), and then holding trials to decide in what forms they deserve to be reborn and how they will be punished or rewarded in the interim. However, in the eyes of the authors of the following two-liners (or one-liners, depending on how you define a 'line'), there are some mortals who surpass Yama in ruthlessness.
(1) Devanagari text:
(1) Devanagari text:
वैद्यः क्रूरो यमः क्रूरो वैद्यः क्रूरो यमादपि|
यमो हरत्यसूनेव वैद्यस्तु सवसूनसून्||
यमो हरत्यसूनेव वैद्यस्तु सवसूनसून्||
vaidyaH krUro yamaH krUro vaidyaH krUro yamAdapi|
yamo haratyasUneva vaidyastu savasUnasUn||
Loose translation: While it is true that both the physician and Yama are cruel, the physician is crueler than Yama: Yama just takes away one's life whereas a physician steals one's wealth in addition to one's life.
Source: Thus spake Jantuketu (जन्तुकेतु), the boastful quack, in one of the extant manuscripts of the 12th century farce Latakamelaka (लटकमेलक), as noted by the editors (Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Durgaprasad and Wasudev Laxman Sastri Pansikar) of the critical edition of the play published in 1923. So, assuming it is not a later interpolation, this snippet can be attributed to the playwright Shankhadhara (शङ्खधर).
Source: Thus spake Jantuketu (जन्तुकेतु), the boastful quack, in one of the extant manuscripts of the 12th century farce Latakamelaka (लटकमेलक), as noted by the editors (Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Durgaprasad and Wasudev Laxman Sastri Pansikar) of the critical edition of the play published in 1923. So, assuming it is not a later interpolation, this snippet can be attributed to the playwright Shankhadhara (शङ्खधर).
वैद्यराज नमस्तुभ्यं यमराजसहोदर|
यमस्तु हरति प्राणान् वैद्यः प्राणान् धनानि च||
यमस्तु हरति प्राणान् वैद्यः प्राणान् धनानि च||
vaidyarAja namastubhyaM yamarAjasahodara|
yamastu harati prANAn vaidyaH prANAn dhanAni ca||
Loose translation: O Great Physician! Brother of King Yama! I salute you! Yama just takes away one's life, a physician life as well as wealth.
Source: 15th century Subhaashitaavali Verse 2319.
Source: 15th century Subhaashitaavali Verse 2319.
वैद्यराज नमस्तुभ्यं क्षपिताशेषामानव|
त्वयि विन्यस्तभारोऽयं कृतान्तः सुखमेधते||
त्वयि विन्यस्तभारोऽयं कृतान्तः सुखमेधते||
vaidyarAja namastubhyaM kSapitAzeSamAnava|
tvayi vinyastabhAro(a)yaM kRtAntaH sukhamedhate||
Loose translation: O Great Physician! I salute you, for you have decimated the human population – Yama can live in happiness and prosperity only because he has devolved his responsibilities to you.
Source: 14th century Shaarngadharapaddhati Verse 4038.
Notes: It is possible that all three of the above quotes started life as a single couplet that was orally transmitted and was hence remembered differently by different collectors; plagiarism (or a pastiche) cannot be ruled out either. Version (1) is my personal favorite for its clever use of repetitions.
Source: 14th century Shaarngadharapaddhati Verse 4038.
Notes: It is possible that all three of the above quotes started life as a single couplet that was orally transmitted and was hence remembered differently by different collectors; plagiarism (or a pastiche) cannot be ruled out either. Version (1) is my personal favorite for its clever use of repetitions.
