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{{short description|Nature spirits associated with South Asian and Southeast Asian mythologies}}
{{other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=350|caption_align=center
| align = right
| direction =horizontal
| 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"/>
| footer=<center>Remains of the colossal statues of the [[Parkham Yaksha]] (150 BCE) and the [[Mudgarpani]] ("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 |language=en}}</ref><br>[[Art of Mathura]], [[Mathura Museum]]</center>
}}

The '''yakshas''' ({{lang-sa|यक्ष}} {{lang|sa-Latn|yakṣa}}; {{lang-pi|yakkha|i=yes}}) are a broad class of nature-spirits, 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|url-status=live|access-date=15 July 2007|website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|language=en}}</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 '''{{IAST|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]]''' ({{lang-sa|यक्षिणी}} {{lang|sa-Latn|yakṣiṇī}}; [[Pali]]:Yakkhini).<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}} has 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 ghost ([[bhoot (ghost)|bhuta]]) that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travellers, similar to the [[rakshasa|{{IAST|rakṣasas}}]].

{{multiple image
| align = right|total_width=250
| image1 = CunninghamBharhut.jpg
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = Dvarapala Yaksha.JPG
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer = The ''yaksha'' are nature spirits who are benevolent, sometimes mischievous or capricious. Left: Yaksi, Right: Yaksha from [[Bharhut]] and [[Pitalkhora]], c. 2nd century CE.
}}

==Early Yakshas==
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 forests and villages,{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} and 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>

In early Indian art, male {{IAST|yakṣas}} are portrayed either as fearsome [[warrior]]s or as portly, stout and [[dwarfism|dwarf-like]]. {{IAST|Yakṣiṇī}}s are portrayed as beautiful young women with happy round faces and full breasts and hips.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

===Kubera===
[[File:Kubera, the God of Riches LACMA M.69.13.8 (1 of 9).jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Kubera, the God of Riches, [[LACMA]]]]
{{Main|Kubera}}
In Hindu, Buddhist and Jain mythology, [[Kubera]], the god of wealth and prosperity, is considered the king of the Yakshas. He is regarded as the regent of the North ([[Guardians of the directions|Dikapāla]]), and a protector of the world ([[Lokapala|Lokapāla]]).

His many epithets{{For example?|date=August 2019}} 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, he is equated with [[Vaiśravaṇa]].

==Yakshas in Buddhism==
[[File:Scroll painting of Atavaka, Unknown Artist, Japan, 14th century.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Painting of [[Āṭavaka]], a yaksha who challenged the Buddha.]]
{{Buddhist term
| fontsize=100%
| title=Yaksha
|en=
|pi=Yakkha
|pi-Latn=
|my=ဘီလူ
|my-Latn=bìlú
|sa=यक्ष
|sa-Latn=yakṣa
|si=යක්ෂ
|si-Latn=yakṣa
|zh=夜叉
|zh-Latn=yèchà
|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
|vi=dạ-xoa
|bo=གནོད་སྦྱིན་
|bo-Latn=gnod-sbyin
|km=យក្ស
|km-Latn=yoks
}}

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 [[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 to seek the protection of the BuddhaDharma:

[[File:Plaosan Temple Guardian.jpg|thumb|A yaksha as a gate guardian (''dvarapala'') at [[Plaosan]] temple in Indonesia.]]

<blockquote style="background-color:none;margin-right:5em;margin-left:0em;border-left:solid 6px #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 [[Rajgir|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}}</ref>
</poem>
</blockquote>

==Yakshas in Jainism==
[[File:'Digambara Yaksha Sarvahna' from Karnataka, India, c. 900, Norton Simon Museum.JPG|thumbnail|'Digambara Yaksha Sarvahna', [[Norton Simon Museum]], c. 900 CE]]
[[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>

The Harivamsapurana (783 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>[Studies in Jaina History and Culture: Disputes and Dialogues, edited by Peter Flügel, Routledge, 2006 p. 352]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vzNCAQAAMAAJ&q=Gomedha+yaksha&pg=PA496|title=Indian Antiquary|date=31 December 1903|publisher=Popular Prakashan|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|last1=Jain|first1=Shalin|year=2012|title=Divided Identities: The Jain Sects in Medieval India|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44156237|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=73|pages=450–60|jstor=44156237|via=JSTOR}}</ref>

===Shasan devatas in Jainism===
[[File:Nswag, india, madhya pradesh, stele con yaksha-yakshini e jinas, XI sec..JPG|thumb|Yaksha and yakshini couple Sarvānubhūti and Kuṣmāṇḍinī, with the [[Tirthankaras]].]]
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|date=|title=Twenty Four Tirthankaras at a glance|url=http://www.jaindharmonline.com/tirthan/tirsum.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712011129/http://www.jaindharmonline.com/tirthan/tirsum.htm|archive-date=12 Jul 2006|access-date=2021-04-27|website=jaindharmonline.com}}</ref> These yakshas are as follows:
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[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}}

==Yakshas 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. The Yakkhas served as loyal subjects with the [[House of Vijaya]] and the yakkha chieftain sat on equal height to the Sri Lankan leaders on festival days.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}

==Yakshas in Thailand==
[[File:Bangkok statue.jpg|thumb|Face of the yakṣa [[Narantaka-Devantaka|Thotsakhirithon]] (ทศคีรีธร) at [[Wat Phra Kaew]], [[Bangkok]]]]
Yakshas ({{lang-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|ย ยักษ์}}" ({{lang|th-Latn|yo yak}}) 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>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="" heights="250px" caption="">
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. Statue found in Buddhist cave ([[Pitalkhora]]) and dates to 2nd century CE. On display in the [[Prince of Wales Museum]].
Image:Chaturmukha (four faced) Brahma image in the mantapa in the Jain temple at Lakkundi.jpg|''Chaturmukha'', a four-faced Brahma image at [[Lakkundi Jain Temple]], 11th century CE
File:Mudgarpani Yaksha - Circa 2nd Century BCE - Bharnakalan - ACCN 87-145 - Government Museum - Mathura 2013-02-24 6146.JPG|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]] at [[Maharaja Chhatrasal Museum]], 11th century
</gallery>

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

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

[[Category:Yakshas| ]]
[[Category:Buddhist deities]]
[[Category:Characters in the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Harvest deities]]
[[Category:Hindu deities]]
[[Category:Indian words and phrases]]
[[Category:Nature spirits]]
[[Category:Non-human races in Hindu mythology]]
[[Category:Tutelary deities]]
[[Category:Yaksha Kingdom]]

Yaksha - Revision history

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