Arriving in Yama's court, Yamaraja roars loudly to the sinners, like the clouds at the dissolution of the universe, threatening them with his black staff or club. He has 32 arms and curved fangs. Yamaraja is surrounded by deformed personified forms of hundreds of horrible and crooked diseases. Yama's abode is 30 yojanas long, and Yamaraja has rows of long teeth. Yama's hair is formed of serpents and scorpions; his tongue is like a flame of fire darting like lightning. Yama is like the sun, incapable of looking at.
Yamaraja sits on a judgment seat, 1 / 8 yojana wide, resembling a blue cloud, inside a jeweled assembly hall. There are also seats of justice for Manu, Brahma, Vyasa, Atri, Brhaspati, Sukra, Gautama, Angira, Brghu, Pulasthya and Pulaha.
With them shines Vicitragupta, laughing loudly and contemptuously.
Yama says: “O wicked one, despite knowing me to be observing your deeds, you committed sins. Hells are unbearable, have you not heard this? Today, see it with your own eyes. You never followed my words in the blindness due to wealth and passion, being insolent. Now experience the fruit of your sins. What is the use of crying?”
Once one sinner said: "O Sun's son, who were the witnesses?” Yamaraja summoned all the witnesses: the deities of the sky, the earth, the water, day, night, both the twilights and Dharma. Each witness narrated the deed and the time when it was done. These beings have subtle bodies.
He has two scribes at his court, Citra writes down the virtuous; Vicitra, the sinful acts of the people.
Sometimes Vicitragupta addresses the sinner: "Why were you so thoughtless? Why are you so worried now? At the time of sinning you were so delighted! The tortures too, must be borne by you. Why didn't you consider it before? What is done must be experienced by yourself. Now see what you have gained: Where is your wife, house, family for whom you committed these sins? Now, you are here, alone.”
Vicitragupta is like an army commander. For the papa-margi, he is eg ordering the Yamadutas: “Don’t be shy, this is ordered by Yamaraja, do this, go there, don’t be afraid to punish this brahmana.”
And for the dharma-margis, those on the path of virtues, Citragupta is saying:
“This soul can go to heaven, this one will get liberation – the Brahmayjoti, and this one can go to the Supreme Heaven (Vaikuntha).
For the pious, Citragupta and Yama's servants, like Candra, speak sweetly and have heavenly forms. Yamaraja is in some yuga's a Visnu-tattva, an expansion of God.
– One Court case from Skanda purana 3.3.3
Once a sinful brahmana woman was brought to Yama's abode. There was a serious doubt about her amongst the members of Yama's assembly. Her husband had died. She had achieved merit in her childhood. After meritorious deeds in 1000's of births, one gains birth in a brahmana family. But, as a widow, she took a paramour, unable to control her passions. Then, she took to wine, after that she wanted to eat meat. By mistake, in the night, she killed a cow's calf, instead of a sheep. Frightened she had helplessly uttered "Siva, Siva'' due to a merit acquired in a previous birth. However, she still ate the meat. Yamaraja said, “Let her experience many diseases in one birth as a candala woman on earth. Due to uttering the holy name of Siva, she will perform further meritorious actions. We can't dare to put people of this sort in hell.” Back on earth, while begging, someone hurled a bilva bunch into the outstretched palms of the candali. Thinking this a thing fit for nothing, she sadly threw it away at night, but on the top of a Siva linga. At her death, the Sivadutas pulled out the atomic soul from the candali body and placed it in an aerial chariot, ascending to Sivaloka in this world, where she remained for many, many yugas. Then she took birth again on Earth, for final purification, then to the eternal Sivaloka, beyond the shells of the material universes.
