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{{Orphan|date=April 2026}}{{Short description|Yogini among the 64 Yoginis in Tantric Hinduism}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Hindu
| name = Pretakshi (Pretākṣī)
| deity_of = Spirits
| member_of = The sixty-four Yoginīs
| venerated_in = Tantric traditions
| associate = Kṣetrapāla (as subordinate)
| affiliation = [[Mahadevi]], [[Shakti]]
| gender = Female
| region = Regional Indian traditions
| temples = Chausath Yogini Temples
}}
'''Pretākṣī''' (lang-sa|प्रेताक्षी, {{IAST|Pretākṣī}}) is one of the sixty-four [[Yogini]]s in the [[Shaktism|Shakta]]-Tantric tradition of Hinduism. The name is a compound of ''preta'' ("departed spirit" or "ghost") and ''akṣī'' ("eye"), commonly interpreted as "She whose eyes are on the spirits" or "She who oversees the departed".<ref name="WisdomPretakshi">{{cite web |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/pretakshi |title=Pretakshi |publisher=Wisdom Library |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref> She belongs to the circle of fierce, esoteric goddesses associated with cremation grounds, protection from malevolent spirits, and the acquisition of supernatural powers.<ref name="WisdomPretakshi"/>

== Scriptural and textual mentions ==
Pretākṣī appears primarily in lists of the Catuḥṣaṣṭi Yoginī (sixty-four Yoginis) found in Tantric texts and some Jain manuscripts. She is enumerated as the fifth Yogini in the ''Chausatha Yogini Namavali''.<ref name="WisdomDeviTantra">{{cite web |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/essay/devi-tantra-mantra-yantra-study/d/doc1474199.html |title=Chausatha Yogini Namavali |publisher=Wisdom Library |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref> In [[Jain]] sources she is described as a subordinate attendant of the guardian deity Kṣetrapāla.<ref name="WisdomPretakshi"/> No detailed narrative or independent chapter about her exists in the major [[Puranas]]; her presence is confined to specialised Yogini lists and Tantric compendia.<ref name="OxfordYoginis">{{cite web |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/abstract/document/obo-9780195399318/obo-9780195399318-0233.xml |title=Yoginīs in South Asian Goddess Traditions |publisher=Oxford Bibliographies |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref><ref name="Academia64Yoginis">{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/36586087 |title=The 64 Yoginis |author=White, David Gordon |year=2017 |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref>

== Iconography ==
Detailed canonical iconography for Pretākṣī alone is not widely recorded. As one of the sixty-four Yoginis, she is typically depicted in the open-air circular temples (e.g., [[Chausath Yogini Temple, Hirapur]] or [[Bhedaghat]]) with a distinctive posture, mount (''vāhana''), and set of emblems. Given her name's association with ''preta'', scholars suggest her imagery may include cremation-ground attributes such as a skull cup (''kapāla''), severed head, or fierce expression, similar to other Yoginis linked to the śmaśāna (cremation ground).<ref name="JOACS2025">{{cite journal |title=Sixty-four Yoginis of Hirapur |journal=Journal of Indian Art and Culture Studies |year=2025 |url=https://journals.lww.com/joacs/fulltext/2025/01000/sixty_four_yogini_s_of_hirapur.2.aspx |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref><ref name="AcademiaBheraghat">{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/90978429 |title=Yoginīs of Bheraghat: A Study of Mythology, Iconography and Symbolism |year=2022 |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref>

== Associated shrines ==
Pretākṣī has no known independent major temple. She is represented as one of the sixty-four sculpted Yoginis in the surviving Chausath Yogini temples of central and eastern India (notably Hirapur in Odisha, [[Bhedaghat]] in [[Madhya Pradesh]], and the ruined temples at Khajuraho and Ranipur-Jharial).<ref name="JOACS2025"/>

== Relation to other deities ==
Pretākṣī is regarded as a manifestation of the supreme [[Shakti]] and belongs to the broader circle of fierce goddesses such as [[Kali]] and the [[Matrikas]]. Her connection with spirits places her functionally alongside Yoginis and deities who govern the dead and protect against ghostly affliction.<ref name="TaylorFrancisYoginiShaman">{{cite book |chapter=Yoginī-Shaman |editor=Keul, István |title=Yoginī in South Asia: Interdisciplinary Approaches |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203361924-3 |doi-broken-date=7 April 2026 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203361924-3/yogin%C4%AB-shaman-hatley |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref>

== Folk and regional traditions ==
The Yogini tradition itself is widely understood as a Sanskritised incorporation of powerful local and tribal female spirits. Pretākṣī's name strongly suggests an original folk role as a protector against ghosts and malevolent spirits, a function still attributed to many village guardian goddesses (''grāmadevatā'') across India.<ref name="TaylorFrancisIntro">{{cite book |chapter=Introduction |editor=Keul, István |title=Yoginī in South Asia |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203361924-1 |doi-broken-date=7 April 2026 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203361924-1/introduction-istv%C3%A1n-keul |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref>

== Academic views ==
Scholars view the sixty-four Yoginis, including Pretākṣī, as evidence of the medieval Tantric assimilation of regional shamanic and folk goddesses into the Brahmanical-Shakta pantheon. Her specific association with ''preta'' underscores the Tantric interest in cremation-ground practices and the control of spirits for the attainment of supernatural powers (''siddhi'').<ref name="TaylorFrancisYoginiShaman"/><ref name="OxfordYoginis"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Shaktism]]
[[Category:Hindu goddesses]]

Pretakshi Devi - Revision history

Ekyaschool: created some biography with sources - done