Maṇibhadra
God of Property
The "Parkam Yaksha" Manibhadra.
Affiliation	Manigriva, Kuberaputra, Yakshyuvraj, Yakshupati
Abode	Alka puri
Mantra	Om Yashpati Kubera putra Manibhadra Namaha
Weapon	Spear
Symbol	power
Mount	Mongoose
Genealogy
Parents	Kubera (father) Bhadra (mother)
Siblings	Nalakuvara
Consort	Gandhravkumari and Punyajani

Maṇibhadra (Sanskrit:'as excellent as a jewel') is one of the majoryakshas. He was a popular deity in ancient India.

Several well known images of yaksha Manibhadra have been found.^[1] The two oldest known image are:

Yaksha Manibhadra coming from Parkham nearMathura, datable to period 200 BCE – 50 BC^[2] The statue is 2.59 meters high. On stylistic grounds andpaleographical analysis of the inscription, the statue is datable to the middle of the 2nd century BCE.^[3] The inscription says "Made by Gomitaka, a pupil of Kunika. Set up by eight brothers, members of the Manibhadra congregation ("puga")." This inscription thus indicates that the statue represents the Yaksa Manibhadra.^[4] According to John Boardman, the hem of the dress is derived from Greek art. Describing a similar statue, John Boardman writes: "It has no local antecedents and looks most like a Greek Late Archaic mannerism". Similar folds can be seen in the Bharhut Yavana.^[5]

• 
  Parkham Yaksha inscription, paleographically dated to mid-2nd century BCE.^[6]
• 
  Parkham Yaksha (rear view)
• 
  Parkham Yaksha, and detail of the wavy fold pattern of the dress.^[7] 150 BCE^[8]

• Yaksha Manibhadra fromPadmavati Pawaya. The inscription under the image mentions a group of Manibhadra worshippers.

Both of them are monumental larger than life sculptures, often dated toMaurya orShunga period. The Parkham Yaksha was used an inspiration byRam Kinker Baij to carve the Yaksha image that now stands in front of theReserve Bank of India inDelhi.^[9]

Manibhadra was often shown with a bag of money in his hand.^{[citation needed]}

Manibhadra is stated to be a son ofKubera and his wife,Bhadra. He is described to have a brother namedNalakuvara. In theRamayana, Manibhadra fought withRavana to defendLanka, but failed.^[10] In theMahabharata, Manibhadra is mentioned along withKubera as a chief of the yakshas.Arjuna is stated to have worshipped him.^[11] TheBhagavata Purana narrates a story about the brothers. Once, Manibhadra and Nalakuvara were playing with their respective wives orapsaras in the river Ganges. They were drunk and nude. When the divine sage,Narada, passed by to visitVishnu, the women covered themselves, but the nude brothers were too intoxicated to see the sage and started to boast about themselves. Narada wanted to teach the brothers a lesson and cursed them to be turned into trees and only to be liberated byVishnu'savatar. During theDvapara Yuga, an infantKrishna was tied to a mortar by his mother,Yashoda, as a punishment for eating dirt.^[12] Krishna crawled with the mortar, which became stuck between two trees. Krishna, using his divine powers, uprooted the trees, liberating Nalakuvara and Manigriva from their curse.

Another figure with the same name is mentioned to be an avatar ofShiva which he called when he was angry and summoned for warfare. Manibhadra decimated the army ofJalandhara along withVirabhadra, another avatar of Shiva.^[13] It is possible that the avatar ofShiva and the chief of the yakshas may be the same Manibhadra but there is no confirmation. Manibhadra is also a god of sea-farers especially merchants venturing out in the sea for business in faraway lands.

In Samyukta Nikaya, Manibhadra is said to reside in the Manimalachaitya inMagadha. Yaksha Manibhadra is invoked in The Exalted Manibhadra’s Dhārani.^[14]

InSūryaprajñapti, a Manibhadra chairya inMithila is mentioned. Yakshas are referred to in theHarivamsa Purana (783 A.D.) ofJinasena made the beginning of this concept.^[15] Among them, Manibhadra and Purnabadra yakshas and Bahuputrika yakshini have been the most popular. Manibhadra and Purnabadra yakshas are mentioned a chief of yakshas, Manibhadra of Northern ones and Purnabadra of Southern ones.

Manibhadra still a yaksha worshipped by the Jains, specially those affiliated with theTapa Gachchha. Three temples are famous for association with Mandibhadra:Ujjain, Aglod (Mehsana) and Magarwada (Banaskantha). Manibhadra Yaksha (or Vira) is a popular demigod among the Jains in Gujarat.^[16] His image can take many forms, including unshaped rocks, however in the most common representation, he is shown with a multi-tusked elephantAiravata.^[17][18]

• Kubera
• Pañcika
• Yaksha

Sources

• Mathew, Ammu (2008).ManoramaTell me why No.32. Monorama Press.ISBN 978-0-9750-4300-4.
• Hopkins, Edward Washburn (1915).Epic mythology. Strassburg K.J. Trübner.ISBN 0-8426-0560-6.
• Sutherland, Gail Hinich (1991).The disguises of the demon: the development of the Yakṣa in Hinduism and Buddhism.SUNY Press.ISBN 0-7914-0622-9.

• Hindu gods
• Buddhist gods
• Fortune gods
• Characters in the Ramayana
• Jain minor deities
• Yakshas

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