Note: the Hindi and Sanskrit paths disagree here — the Hindi dictionary reading is negative (“death”) while the Sanskrit reading is not. Both are shown below; read them together before choosing.
As a deity name
Name 822 of the Ganesha Sahasranāma — Ganesha Purana (Upasana Khanda), as taught by Sage Vyasa / Lord Ganesha
Name 286 of the Hanuman Sahasranāma — Rasvin Samhita / Brahmanda Purana, as taught by Lord Ram / Sages
Name 162 of the Vishnu Sahasranāma — Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva), as taught by Bhishma to Yudhishthira on his deathbed
As a Hindi name
Note: the Hindi and Sanskrit paths disagree here — the Hindi dictionary reading is negative (“death”) while the Sanskrit reading is not. Both are shown below; read them together before choosing.
यम · noun · masculine
एक साथ उत्पन्न बच्चों का जोड़ा । यमज · भारतीय आर्यों के एक प्रसिद्ध देवता जो दक्षिण दिशा के दिक् पाल कहे जाते हैं और आजकल मृत्यु के देवता माने जाते हैं · मन, इंद्रिय आदि के वश या रोक में रखना । निग्रह — Śabdasāgara
यम · yama · s.m.
Restraining, controlling, subduing, taming, keeping in check; restraint — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 1252
यम · masculine
Yama, god of death; Pluto (dwarf planet, former planet)
a Hindi word, a tatsama: the Sanskrit word borrowed unchanged into Hindi यम — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Learned borrowing from Sanskrit यम (yama).” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
yama m. a rein, curb, bridle, RV. v, 61, 2
a driver, charioteer, ib. viii, 103, 10
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
self-control, forbearance, any great moral rule or duty (as opp. to niyama, a minor observance; in ten Yamas are mentioned, sometimes only five), &c.
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (9)Why this matches what you typed
The spelling you confirmed, यम, is itself a dictionary headword — no grammatical transformation stands between what you typed and the meaning above.
Dictionary citations
yama m. a rein, curb, bridle, RV. v, 61, 2
a driver, charioteer, ib. viii, 103, 10
the act of checking or curbing, suppression, restraint (with vācām, restraint of words, silence), BhP.
self-control, forbearance, any great moral rule or duty (as opp. to niyama, a minor observance; in Yājñ. iii, 313 ten Yamas are mentioned, sometimes only five), Mn.; MBh. &c.
(in Yoga) self-restraint (as the first of the eight Aṅgas or means of attaining mental concentration), IW. 93
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
Sources contain errors and engines have limits; every claim above carries its citation so you can verify it. This is guidance about names and their sources — not religious or astrological consultation. How we work · Our sources