View source for Yaksha

{{short description|Nature spirits associated with Asian mythologies}}
{{other uses|Yaksha (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2025}}
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=350|caption_align=center
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| header=Yaksha
| image1   = Yaksha Manibhadra - Parkham Mathura circa 150 BCE.jpg
| caption1 = "[[Parkham Yaksha]]" [[Manibhadra]], 150 BCE
| image2   = Mudgarpani Yaksha, Mathura, 100 BCE.jpg
| caption2 = "[[Mudgarpani|Mudgarpani Yaksha]]", 100 BCE<ref name="SRQF88"/>
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| footer=Remains of the colossal statues of the [[Parkham Yaksha]] (150 BCE) and the [[Mudgarpani]] ("[[Mace (bludgeon)|Mace]]-holder") Yaksha (100 BCE), [[Mathura]]. These colossal statues stand around two metres tall.<ref name="SRQF88">Dated 100 BCE. {{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE – 100 CE |date=2007 |page=368, fig. 88 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA368 |language=en}}</ref> The Mudgarpani Yaksha holds a ''[[mudgar]]'' mace in the right hand, and the left hand used to support a small standing devotee or child joining hands in prayer.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE – 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=365, fig. 85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA365 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dalal |first1=Roshen |title=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-341517-6 |page=398 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC&pg=PA398}}</ref><br />[[Art of Mathura]], [[Mathura Museum]]
}}

The '''Yakshas''' ({{langx|sa|यक्ष}}, {{IAST3|Yakṣa}}, {{langx|pi|Yakkha|i=yes}}) are a broad class of [[nature spirit]]s, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India |date=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education |location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-317-1120-0|page=430}}</ref><ref name="eb">{{Cite web|last=Stefon|first=Matt|title=Yaksha {{!}} Hindu mythology|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/yaksha|access-date=15 July 2007|website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|language=en|archive-date=3 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903053209/https://www.britannica.com/topic/yaksha|url-status=live}}</ref> They appear in [[Hindu texts|Hindu]], [[Jainism|Jain]] and [[Buddhist texts]], as well as ancient and medieval era temples of [[South Asia]] and [[Southeast Asia]] as guardian deities.<ref name=eb/><ref>{{cite book|author=Richard John Richards|title=South-east Asian Ceramics: Thai, Vietnamese, and Khmer: From the Collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0DWAAAAMAAJ |year=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-967-65-3075-2 |pages=27, 67}}</ref> The feminine form of the word is {{IAST3|Yakṣī}}<ref>For {{lang|sa|यक्षी}} as the feminine of {{lang|sa|यक्षः}} see V. S. Apte, ''The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary'', p. 776.</ref> or '''[[Yakshini]]''' ({{langx|sa|यक्षिणी}}, {{IAST3|Yakṣiṇī}}; {{langx|pi|Yakkhini|i=yes}}).<ref>For yakṣiṇī ({{lang|sa|यक्षिणी}}) as a regular Sanskrit term for a female yakṣa, and yakṣaṇī as a Buddhist variant,  see [[Franklin Edgerton]], ''Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary'', Vol. 2, Motilal Banarsidass, first Ed., 1953, p. 442.</ref>

In Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, the {{IAST|yakṣa}}s have a dual personality. On the one hand, a {{IAST|yakṣa}} may be an inoffensive nature-fairy, associated with woods and mountains; but there is also a darker version of the {{IAST|yakṣa}}, which is a kind of ([[bhoot (ghost)|bhuta]]) that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travellers, similar to the [[rakshasas|rakṣasas]].

A unique cultural dance form related to the Yakshas is [[Yakshagana]]. Yakshagana is a traditional stage performance, found in [[Dakshina Kannada]], [[Udupi]], Kasaragod district and Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka.

==Early yakshas==
[[File:CunninghamBharhut.jpg|right|thumb|Yaksi from [[Bharhut]]]]
Yakshas appear in [[Hindu texts|Hindu]], [[Jainism|Jain]] and [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist]] texts.<ref name=eb/><ref>{{cite book|author=Richard John Richards|title=South-east Asian Ceramics: Thai, Vietnamese, and Khmer: From the Collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0DWAAAAMAAJ |year=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-967-65-3075-2 |pages=27, 67}}</ref> Several monumental yakshas are known from the time of the [[Maurya Empire]] period. They are variously dated from around the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. These statues are monumental (usually around 2 metres tall), and often bear inscriptions related to their identification as yakshas. They are considered as the first known monumental stone sculptures in India. Two of these monumental yakshas are known from [[Patna]], one from [[Vidisha]] and one from [[Parkham, Uttar-Pradesh|Parkham]], as well as one yakshini from Vidisha. The {{IAST|yakṣas}} may have originally been the [[tutelary deity]] of a city, district, lake, or well. Their worship, together with popular belief in [[Nāga|nagas]] (serpent deities), feminine fertility deities, and mother goddesses, may have had its origin among the early Hindu people of India. Yaksha worship coexisted with the priest-conducted sacrifices of the Vedic period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=yaksha {{!}} Hindu mythology {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/yaksha |access-date=9 April 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=3 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903053209/https://www.britannica.com/topic/yaksha |url-status=live }}</ref> They were later viewed as the steward deities of the earth and the wealth buried beneath.<ref name="RDeC">{{cite book|title=Haunting the Buddha: Indian Popular Religions and the Formation of Buddhism|last=DeCaroli|first=Robert|year=2004|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]], US| isbn=978-0-19-516838-9}}</ref>

===Kubera===
[[File:Kubera, the God of Riches LACMA M.69.13.8 (1 of 9).jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|Kubera, the God of Riches, [[LACMA]]]]
{{Main|Kubera}}
In Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Religion, [[Kubera]], wealth and prosperity, is considered the king of the yakshas and protector of the world (''[[Lokapāla]]''). In Buddhism, he is equated with [[Vaiśravaṇa]].
{{clear}}

His many [[epithet]]s extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of the world. Kubera is often depicted with a plump body, adorned with jewels, carrying a money-pot and a club. His [[vahana]] (vehicle) is the [[Viverrinae|mongoose]]. He is often seen with [[Lakshmi]], the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity.

==In Buddhism==
{{Buddhist term
| fontsize=100%
| title=Yaksha
|en=
|pi=Yakkha
|pi-Latn=
|my=ယက္ခ
|my-Latn=yakkha
|sa=यक्ष
|sa-Latn=yakṣa
|si=යක්ෂ
|si-Latn=yakṣa
|zh=夜叉
|zh-Latn=yèchā
|ja={{ruby-ja|夜叉|やしゃ}}
|ja-Latn=yasha
|ko=야차
|ko-Latn=yacha
|th=ยักษ์
|th-Latn=yak
|ta=இயக்கர்
|ta-Latn=yākka
|tl=Yakksa
|vi=dạ xoa
|bo=གནོད་སྦྱིན་
|bo-Latn=gnod sbyin
|km=យក្ស
|km-Latn=yoks
}}
[[File:Scroll painting of Atavaka, Unknown Artist, Japan, 14th century.jpg|thumb|left|Painting of [[Āṭavaka]], a yaksha who challenged the Buddha]]
[[File:観音と夜叉 Avalokitasvara and Yaksa.jpg|thumb|right|An illustration from an 1866 Japanese book. A yaksha, who is an incarnation of [[Guanyin|Bodhisattva Kannon]], gives a sermon to folks.]]
[[File:Plaosan Temple Guardian.jpg|thumb|A yaksha as a gate guardian (''dvarapala'') at [[Plaosan]] temple in Indonesia]]
In Buddhist literature, the {{IAST|yakṣa}} are the attendants of [[Vaiśravaṇa]], the guardian of the northern quarter, a beneficent [[deva (Buddhism)|god]] who protects the righteous. The term also refers to the [[Twelve Heavenly Generals]] who guard [[Bhaisajyaguru|{{IAST|Bhaiṣajyaguru}}]], the Medicine Buddha. The yakshas of many Buddhist stories are ugly ogres, reborn in that form because of sins committed during their past lives as humans.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Bhairav|first1=J. Furcifer|title=Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India|last2=Khanna|first2=Rakesh|publisher=Blaft Publications Pvt Ltd|year=2020|isbn=9789380636474|location=India|pages=417–418}}</ref>

One such malevolent yaksha, Silesaloma, appears in the [[Jataka tales]] of the [[Pali]] Buddhist canon. In the story "Prince Five-Weapons and the Sticky-Haired Demon",<ref>{{Cite web|title=Prince Five-Weapons and Sticky-Hair|url=https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/bt_5.htm|website=Buddhist Studies: Buddha Dharma Education Association & BuddhaNet|access-date=31 January 2022|archive-date=10 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110054922/http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/bt_5.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Silesaloma is described as being the height of a palm tree, with sharp teeth and two yellow tusks, and a coat of thick, matted fur. A [[bodhisattva]] named Prince Panchayudha (Five-Weapons) attempted to kill Silesaloma, but all his attacks, from both his weapons and his bare hands, were thwarted by Silesaloma's sticky hair. Ultimately, Prince Panchayudha impressed Silesaloma with his bravery, and the yaksha decided to let him go. Panchayudha explained that Silesaloma's monstrous state was caused by wicked deeds from his past lives, and he taught the yaksha the [[five precepts]], after which Silesaloma renounced violence and transformed into a friendly forest spirit.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Mahamayuri|Mahāmāyūrīvidyārājñī]] Sūtra, a text that dates back to fourth century or earlier (translated from the [[Sanskrit]] by [[Kumarajiva]]), gives a large list of yakshas that reside in the classical cities of ancient India<ref>[V. S. Agravala, " Geographical Contents of Mahamayuri JUPHS, Vol. XV, Pt. ii, 1942, p. 28]</ref> who are invoked for the protection of the [[Buddhist dharma|Buddhist Dharma]]:

<blockquote style="margin-right:3em;margin-left:0em;border-left:solid 10px #FFE0BB;padding:1.0em">
<poem>
"The deity Krakucchanda resides in [[Pataliputra]].
Aparajita resides in Sthuno.
The great yaksha Bhadra resides in Saila.
The great deity Manava resides in Uttara.
The great sage Vajrapani though lives in [[Rajgir|Rajagrha]]
Often dwells in [[Vulture Peak|Mount Grdhrakuta]].
The deity Garuda resides in the Vipula mountain.
Citragupta resides in Citemukha.
The yaksha Vakula resides in Rajagrha.
...
The yaksha king Mahagiri resides in Girinagara.
The yaksha Vasava resides in [[Vidisha|Vaidisa]].
The yaksha Karttikeya resides in [[Rohtak|Rohitaka]].
This yaksha Kumara is renowned in the great city.
...
Vaisravana who resides in the city Alakavati,
Located along the jewelled stairway of the Buddha's descent,
Is surrounded by billions of gods and goddesses.
Such yakshas command huge and powerful contingents of troops
To subjugate adversaries and enemies,
Conquering all.
They are famous throughout all directions.
Imbued with great dignity and virtue,
They come to aid
In the battles between the heavens and asuras.

These deities of virtues and great yaksha generals are located everywhere in [[Jambudvīpa|Jambudvipa]]. They uphold and protect the Buddhadharma, generating compassion."
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mahamayurividyarajni.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/mahamayuri/|title=The Mahamayuri Vidyarajni Sutra 佛母大孔雀明王經|date=10 June 2012|access-date=31 December 2019|archive-date=21 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021102251/https://mahamayurividyarajni.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/mahamayuri/|url-status=live}}</ref>
</poem>
</blockquote>

==In Jainism==
[[File:Nswag, india, madhya pradesh, stele con yaksha-yakshini e jinas, XI sec..JPG|thumb|left|Yaksha and yakshini couple Sarvānubhūti and Kuṣmāṇḍinī, with the [[Tirthankaras]]]]
[[Jainism|Jains]] mainly maintain [[cult image]]s of [[Arihant (Jainism)|Arihant]]s and [[Tirthankara]]s, who have conquered the inner passions and attained moksha. ''Yakshas'' and ''yakshinis'' are found in pair around the cult images of Jinas, serving as guardian deities. The ''yaksha'' is generally on the right-hand side of the Jina image while the ''yakshini'' is on the left-hand side. They are regarded mainly as devotees of the Jina and have supernatural powers. They are also wandering through the cycles of births and deaths just like the worldly souls, but have supernatural powers.<ref>Pramodaben Chitrabhanu, ''Jain symbols, Ceremonies and Practices''</ref>

[[File:'Digambara Yaksha Sarvahna' from Karnataka,  India, c. 900, Norton Simon Museum.JPG|thumbnail|'Digambara Yaksha Sarvahna', [[Norton Simon Museum]], {{circa|900&nbsp;CE}}]]
The Harivamsapurana (783&nbsp;CE) refers to them as Shasandevatas. Initially among the yakshas, Manibhadra and Purnabadra yakshas and Bahuputrika yakshini were popular. The yaksha [[Manibhadra]] is worshipped by the Jains affiliated with the Tapa Gachchha. During tenth and thirteenth centuries yaksha Saarvanubhuti, or Sarvahna and yakshinis [[Chakreshvari]], [[Ambika (Jainism)|Ambika]], [[Padmavati (Jainism)|Padmavati]], and [[Jwalamalini]] became so popular that independent temples devoted to them were erected.

Yakshas and yakshinis are common among the [[Murtipujaka]] [[Śvētāmbara]] and Bispanthi [[Digambara]] Jains. The [[Digambara Terapanth]] movement opposes their worship.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Flügel, Peter |year=2006 |title=Studies in Jaina History and Culture: Disputes and eialogues |publisher=Routledge |page=352}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Indian Antiquary |date=31 December 1903 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vzNCAQAAMAAJ&q=Gomedha+yaksha&pg=PA496 |access-date=31 December 2019 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Among the Murtipujaka Śvētāmbaras, the [[Tristutik Gaccha]] sect (both historical founded by Silagana and Devabhadra, and the modern sect organised by [[Rajendrasuri]]) object to the worship of shruta-devatas.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jain |first=Shalin |year=2012 |title=Divided identities: The Jain sects in medieval India |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=73 |pages=450–460 |jstor=44156237 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44156237 |access-date=27 April 2021 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427004419/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44156237 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Shasan devatas in Jainism===
In Jainism, there are twenty-four yakshas and [[Yakshini#Yakshis in Jainism|twenty-four yakshis]] that serve as śāsanadevatās for the twenty-four tirthankaras:<ref>{{cite web |title=Twenty four Tirthankaras at a glance |website=jaindharmonline.com |url=http://www.jaindharmonline.com/tirthan/tirsum.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712011129/http://www.jaindharmonline.com/tirthan/tirsum.htm |archive-date=12 July 2006}}</ref> These yakshas are as follows:
{{clear}}
{{div col begin|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Gomukha]]
* Mahayaksha
* Trimukha
* Yaksheshvara or Yakshanayaka
* Tumbaru
* Kusuma
* Varanandi or Matanga
* Vijaya or Shyama
* Ajita
* Brahma or Brahmeshvara
* Ishvara or Yakset
* Kumara
* Dandapani
* Patala
* Kinnara
* Kimpurusha or Garuda
* Gandharva
* Kendra or Yakshendra
* [[Kubera#Beyond Hinduism|Kubera]]
* Varuna
* Bhrikuti
* Gomedha or Sarvahna
* [[Dharanendra]] or Parshvayaksha
* Matanga
{{div col end}}
{{clear}}

==In poems==
In [[Kālidāsa]]'s poem ''[[Meghadūta]]'', for instance, the {{IAST|yakṣa}} narrator is a romantic figure, pining with love for his missing beloved. By contrast, in the didactic Hindu dialogue of the [[Yaksha Prashna|{{IAST|Yakṣapraśnāḥ}}]] "Questions of the {{IAST|Yakṣa}}", it is a [[tutelary deity|tutelary spirit]] of a lake that challenges [[Yudhishthira|{{IAST|Yudhiṣṭhira}}]].

In ''[[Mahavamsa]]'' poem of Sri Lanka, a local population is given the term Yakkhas. [[Prince Vijaya]] encountered the royalty of the yakkhas' queen, [[Kuveni]], in her capital of [[Lanka]] pura and conquered them.

==In Nepal==
<gallery mode=packed heights=100>
File:Architectural Support with Squatting Dwarf LACMA M.86.247.3.jpg|Architectural Support with Squatting Dwarf, 11th century, [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]]
File:Spout of Bhimsen Hiti, Bhaktapur.jpg|Yaksha beneath the spout of Bhimsen Hiti, Bhaktapur
File:Maruhiti-IMG 2665.jpg|Yaksha at Maru hiti, Kathmandu
File:Chysal Dhungedhara spout.jpg|Yakshas beneath a spout of Saraswati Hiti, Chyasal
File:MET DP101030.jpg|Yakshas relief, 8th–9th century, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
</gallery>
In Nepal, squat stone versions of yakshas (sometimes twinned) were used as elements in construction. Their role was that of a [[caryatid]], which supports a part of the building, for example a column.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38307 |title=Yakshas Relief, Nepal, Kathmandu Valley, possibly Deopatan, 8th–9th century |work=Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38475 |title=Yakshas Relief, Nepal, Kathmandu Valley, possibly Deopatan, 8th–9th century |work=Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref> However, they are best known for their appearance under the spouts of ancient [[Dhunge dhara|drinking fountains]], especially fountains built in the [[Licchavis of Nepal|Licchavi era]] (c. 400–750 AD).<ref>{{cite web |last=Vajracharya |first=Gautama V. |date=7 January 2009 |url=https://www.asianart.com/articles/rainrivers/index.html |title=The Creatures of the Rain Rivers, Cloud Lakes: Newars Saw Them, So Did Ancient India |work=asianart.com |access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref> [[Bhagiratha]] sculptures are more commonly found under spouts from the [[Malla (Kathmandu Valley)|Malla period]] (c. 1201–1779 AD).<ref name=NepalMandala> Nepal Mandala: A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley by Mary Shepherd Slusser, Vol. 1, Princeton University Press, 1982, p 154-157</ref>

==In Thailand==
[[File:Bangkok statue.jpg|thumb|Face of the yakṣa [[Narantaka-Devantaka|Thotsakhirithon]] (ทศคีรีธร) at [[Wat Phra Kaew]], [[Bangkok]]]]
Yakshas ({{langx|th|ยักษ์}}, {{RTGS|''Yak''}}) are an important element in [[Thai temple art and architecture]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thaiworldview.com/wat/wat2.htm|title=Thai temples - page 2/7|website=www.thaiworldview.com|access-date=31 December 2019}}</ref> They are common as guardians of the gates in Buddhist temples throughout the country since at least the 14th century. [[Ceramic art|Ceramic sculptures]] of guardian yakshas were produced in [[Thailand]], during the [[Sukhothai kingdom|Sukhothai]] and [[Ayutthaya kingdom|Ayutthaya periods]], between the 14th and 16th centuries, at several [[kiln]] complexes in [[northern Thailand]]. They are mostly depicted with a characteristic face, having big round bulging eyes and protruding [[fang]]s, as well as a green complexion. Yakshas and their female counterparts are common in the Buddhist [[Thai literature|literature of Thailand]], such as in [[The Twelve Sisters]] and [[Phra Aphai Mani]]. As [[ogre]]s, giants, and ogresses, yakshas are present as well in [[Thai folklore]].

{{lang|th-Latn|yo yak}}  "{{lang|th|ย ยักษ์}}" is also used as an illustration in order to name the letter ย, the 34th consonant of the [[Thai alphabet]], according to the traditional letter symbols Thai children use to memorise the alphabet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thailandbuddy.com/learning-thai-language/Alphabet-Graffiti-Letters.html|title=Thai Alphabet in Letters|website=www.thailandbuddy.com|access-date=31 December 2019}}</ref>

==In Sri Lanka==
Yakshas are regarded as one of the [[ancient clans of Sri Lanka]]. The word ''"Yagasha"'' has been found in a cave inscription in Tamketiya in Nailgala, Kaltota written in early [[Brahmi script]]. Professor [[Raj Somadeva]] translates the word as 'belonging
to Yakshas' or 'who wrote this inscription are Yakshas'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/14457302|title=Explorations in Sri Lankan Archaeology with Raj Somadeva PART 1|access-date=26 August 2024|archive-date=26 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826112901/https://www.academia.edu/14457302|url-status=live}}</ref> In Sinhalese, [[Demons of Sri Lanka|Demons]]
are also known as ''yakshayo'' (Singular: ''Yakshaya'').

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed heights=250>
File:Sanchi 8-17.jpg|Yaksha couple standing on lotus leaves, the male (sic) holding a lotus bud and posed in shalabhanjika
File:Dvarapala Yaksha.JPG|Dvarapala Yaksha made of basalt. Found in Buddhist cave ([[Pitalkhora]]), 2nd century CE. [[Prince of Wales Museum]]
File:Mudgarpani Yaksha - Circa 2nd Century BCE - Bharnakalan - ACCN 87-145 - Government Museum - Mathura 2013-02-24 6146.JPG|[[Mudgarpani|Mudgarpani Yaksha]], 2nd century BCE, Bharnakalan, [[Mathura Museum]]
File:Vidisha District Museum Yaksha.jpg|[[Vidisha]] Yaksha, 2nd century BCE, [[Vidisha Museum]]
File:Maharaja Chhatrasal Museum Dhubela Exhibit Item (5).JPG|Gomedh and [[Ambika (Jainism)|Ambika]], 11th century, [[Maharaja Chhatrasal Museum]]
File:夜叉鬼.JPG|Carving of a yaksha (夜叉)
</gallery>

==See also==
{{div col}}
* [[Dharanendra]]
* [[Dwarf (mythology)]]
* [[Gnome]]
* [[Goblin]]
* [[Jambhala]]
* [[Jinn]]
* [[Kubera]]
* [[List of Yakshas]]
* [[Manibhadra]]
* [[Nalakuvara]]
* [[Ogre]]
* [[Pañcika]]
* [[Pygmy (Greek mythology)]]
* [[Shedim]]
* [[Yaksha kingdom#Sthunakarna|Sthunakarna]]
* [[Suketu]]
* [[Vaiśravaṇa]]
* [[Vajrapani]]
* [[Yaksha kingdom]]
* [[Yakshini]]
* [[Yaksha Prashna]]

{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* ''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' ({{ISBN|0-500-51088-1}}) by Anna Dhallapiccola

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Yaksha}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110721181758/http://www.yakshi.in/concept-of-yakshi Concept of Yakshi] (archived 21 July 2011)

{{HinduMythology}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Fairies}}

[[Category:Yakshas| ]]
[[Category:Characters in the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Agricultural deities]]
[[Category:Hindu deities]]
[[Category:Indian words and phrases]]
[[Category:Nature spirits]]
[[Category:Tutelary deities]]
[[Category:Yaksha kingdom]]
[[Category:Jain minor deities]]
[[Category:Legendary creatures in Hindu mythology]]
[[Category:Indian folklore]]
[[Category:Mythological hematophages]]
[[Category:Forest spirits]]