Yali (mythology)

2025-10-03T15:59:58Z

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{{Short description|Hindu mythological creature}}

[[File:01MaduraiMeenakshiAmmanTemple&IndoorCorridorView.jpg|thumb|Yali in pillars at Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple]]
[[Image:Yali pillars in mantapa of Rameshwara temple at Keladi.jpg|thumb|Yali pillars, Rameshwara Temple, [[Keladi]], [[Shivamogga District]], Karnataka state, India]]
[[Image:Yali pillars1 in Aghoreshwara Temple in Ikkeri.jpg|thumb|Yali in Aghoreswara temple, [[Ikkeri]], Shivamogga district, Karnataka state, India]]

'''Yali''' ({{IAST3|Yāḷi}},<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalal |first=Roshen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&dq=yali+guardian+hindu&pg=PA470 |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-341421-6 |pages=470 |language=en}}</ref> {{langx|ta|யாழி}}), also called '''Vyāla''' ({{langx|sa|व्याल}}),<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2021-08-31 |title=Figure 149. Yali [Sculptures in temples in Kumbakonam] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/gallery/sculptures-in-temples-in-kumbakonam/2581 |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> is a [[South India]]n mythological creature, portrayed with the head and the body of a lion, the trunk and the tusks of an elephant, and sometimes bearing equine features.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2021-11-07 |title=Yali, Yāḷi: 1 definition |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/yali |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref>

Images of the creature occur in many [[Dravidian architecture|South Indian temples]], often sculpted onto the pillars.<ref>{{Cite book |last=van der Geer |first=Alexandra Anna Enrica |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=oQ3quxh9gsgC&dq=yali+elephant&pg=PA223 |title=Animals in Stone: Indian Mammals Sculptured Through Time |date =2008 |publisher =BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-16819-0 |language =en}}</ref> There also exist variations of the creature, with it possessing the appendages of other beasts. It has sometimes been described as a ''leogryph'' (part-lion and part-[[griffin]]),<ref>{{cite web |url =https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?queryAll=People%2F!!%2FOR%2F!!%2F136610%2F!%2F136610-3-17%2F!%2FPurchased+from+F+Teltscher%2F!%2F%2F!!%2F%2F!!!%2F&objectId=223936&partId=1&numpages=10&orig=%2Fresearch%2Fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx&currentPage=1|title=Carved wood bracket – description|publisher =British Museum|access-date =13 December 2011}}</ref> with some bird-like features, with the trunk referred to as a [[proboscis]].<ref>{{Cite book |last =Walker |first =Benjamin |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=6zj3DwAAQBAJ&dq=yali+hinduism&pg=PA49 |title =Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism. In Two Volumes. Volume I A-L |date =2019-04-09 |publisher =Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-62465-0 |pages=89 |language=en}}</ref>

Karuna Sagar Behera writes of the '''''virala''''', or '''''vidala''''' ({{langx | sa | vyala}}) in terms of a "mythical monster used [...] as a sculptural and architectural motif, the representation of vidala is of various types, e.g. ''gaja-vidala'', nara-vidala, etc."<ref>
{{cite book
|author1 = Karuna Sagar Behera
|year = 2005
|chapter = Glossary
|title = Konark - The Black Pagoda
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aNuSDwAAQBAJ
|publication-place = New Delhi
|publisher = Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
|page =
|isbn = 9788123029979
|access-date = 29 December 2024
}}
</ref>

==Iconography==
Descriptions of, and references to, yalis are ancient, but they became prominent in South Indian sculptures in the 16th century. Yalis were described to be more powerful than the lion, the tiger, or the elephant. In its iconography, the yali has a cat-like body, but the head of a lion with the tusks of an elephant ([[gaja]]), and the tail of a serpent. Sometimes, they have been shown standing on the back of a [[Makara (Hindu mythology)|makara]], another mythical creature and considered to be the [[vahana]] of [[Budha]] (Mercury). Some images look like three-dimensional representation of yalis. Images or icons have been found on the entrance walls of the temples, and the graceful mythical lion is believed to protect and guard the temples and ways leading to the temple. They usually have the stylised body of a lion and the head of some other beast, most often an elephant (gaja-vyala).<ref>{{cite news|title=Sculptural fusion|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=21 January 2007 |location=Chennai, India |url= http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/01/21/stories/2007012100160500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070128052712/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/01/21/stories/2007012100160500.htm}}</ref> Other common examples are: the lion-headed (simha-vyala), horse- (ashva-vyala), human- (nir-vyala) and the dog-headed (shvana-vyala) ones.<ref>[http://www.khandro.net/mysterious_vyali_mukha.htm Khandro - Yali & Mukha]</ref>

== Symbolism ==
{{Hindu mythology}}
The yali is said to be a guardian creature, protecting human beings both physically and spiritually. It is regarded to be a fearless beast, possessing supremacy over the animal world. It is also believed to be the symbolic representation of man's struggle with the elemental forces of nature. It is even depicted in emblem of Karnataka<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bane |first=Theresa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PYWDAAAQBAJ&dq=yali+hindu+mythology&pg=PA340 |title=Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore |date=2016-05-22 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-2268-2 |pages=340 |language=en}}</ref>

==Literature==

Descriptions of the yali are featured in ancient [[Tamil literature]], dating back to the [[Sangam literature|Sangam]] era.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pillai |first=M. S. Purnalingam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIeqvcai5XQC&dq=yali+sangam+literature&pg=PA87 |title=Tamil Literature |date=1994 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=978-81-206-0955-6 |pages=87 |language=en}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Yali, from the neck of a Veena Saraswati (Musées de Dahlem Berlin) (3042092768).jpg|The Yali is often found on the neck of a modern [[Saraswati veena]].
File:Sculptures in New Mandap.JPG|Yali in pillars of Puthu Mandapam, [[Madurai]], Tamil Nadu State, India
File:யாளி-திருவண்ணாமலை.jpg|Yali in Thiruvannamalai Annamalaiyar Temple, [[Tiruvannamalai]], Tamil Nadu State, India
File:Yali pillars in a small open mantapa in the Vitthala temple complex in Hampi 2.JPG|''Yali'' pillars at Vittala temple at [[Hampi]], Karnataka state, India
File:Entrance to Ananthasayana temple at Ananthasayanagudi.JPG|''Yali'' pillars at Ananthasayana temple, Ananthasayanagudi, Karnataka state, India
File:Carved pillar in the 16th century Thousnad-Pillared Hall, Meenakshi Temple, Madurai (2) (37259217170).jpg|Carved pillar in the 16th century [[Thousand Pillar Hall]], Meenakshi Temple, [[Madurai]]
File:Yali pillars in mantapa of Krishna temple in Hampi.JPG|''Yali'' pillars at Krishna temple at Hampi, Karnataka state, India
File:Yali pillars3 at Bhoganandishvara group of temples, Chikkaballapur district.jpg|Yali pillars at Bhoganandishvara temple in Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka state, India
File:Yali pillars2 at Ranganatha temple in Rangasthala, Chikkaballapur district.jpg|Yali pillars at the Ranganatha temple in Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka state, India
File:Yali pillars1 at Ranganatha temple in Rangasthala, Chikkaballapur district.jpg|Pillars with ''Yali'' and ''Kudure Gombe'' ("horse doll") at Ranganatha temple, Rangasthala, Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka state, India
File:Amazing Mukteswar temple with its minor shrines but excluding the Murich Kunda-image8.jpg|''Yali'' and rider, [[Mukteshvara Temple, Bhubaneswar|Mukteshvara Temple]], Bhubaneshwar, Odisha state, India
File:Mukteswar temple (3).jpg|''Yali'' and rider, [[Mukteshvara Temple, Bhubaneswar|Mukteshvara Temple]], Bhubaneshwar, Odisha state, India
File:Yala of Orcha fort.jpg|alt=A Image of Yali at Orchha fort, Madhya Pradesh, India|Image of Yali at Orchha fort, Madhya Pradesh, India
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Gandaberunda]]
* [[Nawarupa]]
* [[Prathyangira|Pratyangira]]
* [[Sharabha]]
* [[Gajasimha]]

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

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.agasthiar.org/AUMzine/0015-s.htm Photos and works on Sarabesvara]
* [http://www.asianart.com/exhibitions/nies02/13.html Asian art - Yali, Sri Lanka]

[[Category:Legendary creatures in Hindu mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological hybrids]]
[[Category:Mythological lions]]
[[Category:Mythological elephants]]
[[Category:Mythological horses]]

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Yali (mythology)