Colour ink image from Senwanture.com
Yanluo is often portrayed with an angry red face and long beard. (Wait a minute, isn’t that also Guan Yu’s signature look?)
He is not only the king of the underworld, but also the judge who decides the fate of the dead.
Rather than an individual deity, Yanluo Wang is sometimes said to be a celestial position that can even be assumed by worthy mortals after death.
Some say that the famous Justice Bao Zheng of the Song Dynasty was appointed as the judge of the dead, assisted by his three assistants Old Age, Illness and Death.
Do read this excellent post on The Jade Turtle Records blog that describes Yanluo Wang in detail, including the Indian Vedic King Yama.
Three Stars 