With the change of the abode of the dead from inferno to heaven the two
Cerberi are _eo ipso_ also evicted. That follows of itself, even if we
had not explicit testimony. A legend of the Br[=a]hmana-texts, the Hindu
equivalent of the Talmud, tells repeatedly that there are two dogs _in
heaven_, and that these two dogs are Yama's dogs. I shall present two
versions of the story, a kind of [Greek: Gigantomachia] in order to
establish the equation between the terms "two dogs of Yama," and "two
heavenly dogs."
"There were Asuras (demons) named K[=a]lak[=a]njas. They piled up a fire
altar in order to obtain the world of heaven. Man by man they placed a
brick upon it. The god Indra, passing himself off for a Brahmin, put on
a brick for himself. They climbed up to heaven. Indra pulled out his
brick; they tumbled down. And they who tumbled down became spiders; two
flew up, and became the two heavenly dogs." (Br[=a]hmana of the
_T[=a]ittir[=i]yas_ 1. 1. 2.)
"The Asuras (demons) called K[=a]lak[=a]njas piled bricks for an altar,
saying: 'We will ascend to heaven.' Indra, passing himself off for a
Brahmin, came to them; he put on a brick. They at first came near
getting to heaven; then Indra tore out his brick. The Asuras becoming
quite feeble fell down; the two that were uppermost became the dogs of
Yama, those which were lower became spiders." (Br[=a]hmana of the
_M[=a]itra_ 1. 6. 9.)
This theme is so well fixed in the minds of the time that it is
elaborated in a charm to preserve from some kind of injury, addressed to
the mythic figures of the legend:
"Through the air he flies looking down upon all beings: with the majesty
of the heavenly dog, with that oblation would we pay homage to thee.
"The three K[=a]lak[=a]njas, that are fixed upon the sky like gods, all
these I have called to help, to render this person free from harm.
"In the waters is thy origin, upon the heavens thy home, in the middle
of the sea, and upon the earth, thy greatness; with the majesty of the
heavenly dog, with that oblation would we pay homage to thee."
(_Atharva-Veda_ vi., 80.)
The single heavenly dog that is described here is of no mean interest.
The passage proves the individual character of each of the two dogs of
Yama; they cannot be a vague pair of heavenly dogs, but must be based
each upon some definite phenomenon in the heavens.
Yet another text, Hiranyakeçin's book of house-rites, locates the dogs
of Yama, describing them in unmistakable language, in heaven: "The brood
of Saram[=a], dark beneath and brown, run, looking down upon the sea."
(ii. 7. 2.)