Indo-Iranian Roots

The word yama means “twin” (it is used in this sense in the Ṛgveda to refer to Indra and Vāyu, Indra and Agni, the Aśvins, etc.; see vedic gods), but in the Ṛgveda as well as in the Avesta (where he is called Yima), it is also the name of a mythical person, the son of Vivasvant; in the Avesta he is a mythical king, ruling in a kind of “golden age,” whereas in the Ṛgveda he is the ruler in the world of t…