yakṣa
Sign in to saveThe Yakshas (, , ) are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, as well as ancient and medieval era temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia as guardian deities. The feminine form of the word is or Yakshini (, ; ).
Article
14 sectionsContents
- Early yakshas
- Kubera
- In Buddhism
- In Jainism
- Shasan devatas in Jainism
- In poems
- In Nepal
- In Thailand
- In Sri Lanka
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- Sources
- External links
The Yakshas (, , ) are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, as well as ancient and medieval era temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia as guardian deities. The feminine form of the word is or Yakshini (, ; ).
In Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, the s have a dual personality. On the one hand, a may be an inoffensive nature-fairy, associated with woods and mountains; but there is also a darker version of the , which is a kind of (bhuta) that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travellers, similar to the rakṣasas.