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| Yakshini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Devanagari | यक्षिणी |
| Affiliation | Devi |
Yakshinis orYakshis (Sanskrit:यक्षिणी,IAST:Yakṣiṇī or Yakṣī,IPA:[jɐkʂiɳiː,jɐkʂiː];Prakrit:Yakkhiṇī or Yakkhī,IPA:[jɐkːʰiɳiː,jɐkːʰiː]) are a class of femalenature spirits inHindu,Buddhist, andJain religious mythologies that are different fromDevas andAsuras andGandharvas orApsaras. Yakshinis and their male counterparts, theYakshas, are one of the manyparanormal beings associated with the centuries-oldsacred groves of India. Yakshis are also found in the traditional legends ofNortheastern Indian tribes, ancient legends ofKerala, and in the folktales ofKashmiri Muslims.Sikhism also mentions yakshas in its sacred texts.[3]
The well behaved and benign ones are worshipped astutelaries,[4] they are the attendees ofKubera, the treasurer of the gods, and also the Hindu god ofwealth who ruledHimalayan kingdom ofAlaka. There are also malign and mischievous yakshinis withpoltergeist-like behaviours,[4] that can haunt and curse humans according toIndian folklore.[5]
Theashoka tree is closely associated with yakshinis. The young girl at the foot of the tree is an ancient motif indicating fertility on theIndian subcontinent.[6] One of the recurring elements inIndian art, often found as gatekeepers in ancient Buddhist and Hindu temples, is a yakshini with her foot on the trunk and her hands holding the branch of a stylized flowering ashoka or, less frequently, other tree with flowers or fruits.
The three sites ofBharhut,Sanchi, andMathura, have yielded huge numbers of Yakshi figures, most commonly on the railing pillars ofstupas. These show a clear development and progression that establishes certain characteristics of the Yakshi figure such as her nudity, smiling face and evident (often exaggerated) secondary sexual characteristics that lead to their association withfertility. The yakshi is usually shown with her hand touching a tree branch, in a sinuoustribhanga pose, thus some authors hold that the young girl at the foot of the tree is based on an ancienttree deity.[6]
Yakshis were important in earlyBuddhist monuments as a decorative element and are found in many ancient Buddhist archaeological sites. They becameSalabhanjikas (sal tree maidens) with the passing of the centuries, a standard decorative element of bothIndian sculpture andIndian temple architecture.[7]
The sal tree (Shorea robusta) is often confused with the ashoka tree (Saraca indica) in the ancient literature of the Indian Subcontinent.[8] The position of the Salabhanjika is also related to the position ofQueen Māyā of Sakya when she gave birth to GautamaBuddha under an asoka tree in a garden inLumbini, while grasping its branch.[7]
Below is a nonexhaustive list of yakshinis found in Buddhist literature:[9]
In theUddamareshvara Tantra, thirty-six yakshinis are described, including theirmantras andritual prescriptions. A similar list of yakshas and yakshinis are given in theTantraraja Tantra, where it says that these beings are givers of whatever is desired. They are the guardians of thetreasure hidden in theearth.They can beSattvik,Rajas orTamas in nature.[citation needed]
The sadhak can take yakshini as mother, sister or wife before commencing it. Proper mantra dikshaa from guru can speed up the mantra siddhi. They can be invoked with mantra "Om hreem shreem nityadravae mada (yakshini name) shreem hreem". The list of thirty six yakshinis given in theUddamareshvara Tantra is as follows, along with some of the associated legends:[5]
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InJainism, there are twenty-five yakshis, including Panchanguli,Chakreshvari,Ambika, andPadmavati, who are frequently represented in Jain temples.[10] Each is regarded as the guardian goddess of one of the present tirthankar ShriSimandhar Swami and twenty-four Jaintirthankara. The names according toTiloyapannatti (or Pratishthasarasangraha) and Abhidhanachintamani are:
In the literature and folktales of Kerala, yakshis are generally not considered benevolent. Many folk stories feature murdered women reborn as vengeful yakshis, some of which are listed below. Aside from those mentioned below, yakshis are also featured inMalayatoor Ramakrishnan's 1967 novelYakshi, which describes their world as having a blue sun, carpets of crimson grass, streams of molten silver, and flowers made of sapphires, emeralds, garnets, and topaz. In the novel, young yakshis fly around on the backs of giant dragonflies. According to Ramakrishnan's novel, adult yakshis are required to enter the land of the living once a year to feed on the blood of human men.[3]
According to a legend from Thekkalai, next toNagercoil inTamil Nadu, a pair of beautiful sisters named Chempakavally and Neelapilla turned into vengeful yakshis after becoming victims of anhonor killing by their father. Since their father killed them to keep them from the clutches of the lustfulraja of the region, the sister yakshis tortured and killed everyone in the palace, and their father as well. The two yakshis haunted the place where they were killed until they were placated somewhat by many poojas and rituals and a temple constructed on the site. Idols of the sister yakshis are present inside. The older sister, Chempakavally, eventually transformed into a benevolent deity and traveled toMount Kailash to worshipLord Shiva, while the younger sister, Neelapilla, remained ferocious. It is said that some of Neelapilla's devotees offer her the fingernail clippings or locks of hair from their enemies, beseeching her to destroy them.[3]
One of the most famous stories of legendary Yakshis of Kerala is that ofKalliyankattu Neeli, who was said to be a Yakshi with divine beauty, who later assumed the form of a goddess.[11] The Yakshi theme is the subject of popular Keralite tales, like the legend of the Yakshi ofThiruvananthapuram, as well as of certainmovies in modernMalayalam cinema.
Mangalathu Sreedevi or Chiruthevi, also known asKanjirottu Yakshi is a yakshi from the folklore of Kerala. According to legend, she was born into aPadamangalam Nairtharavad by name Mangalathu at Kanjiracode inSouth Travancore. She was also known as Chiruthevi. She was a ravishingly beautiful courtesan who had an intimate relationship with Raman Thampi, son of KingRama Varma and rival ofAnizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma.[12] Made arrogant by her beauty and the adoration heaped on her by men, she enjoyed toying with men's lives and driving them to financial ruin.
However, Chiruthevi was truly in love with Kunjuraman, her palanquin-bearer, who was already married and uninterested in her romantically. In frustration, Chiruthevi arranged to have Kunjuraman's wife killed. Kunjuraman finally agreed to sleep with Chiruthevi, but then murdered her to avenge his wife.
Immediately after her death, Chiruthevi was reborn as a yakshi in the village ofKanjirottu, where she magically transformed into a beautiful woman mere moments after her birth. She terrorized men and drank their blood, and continued to harass Kunjuraman. Her frenzy only subsided after she made a deal with her brother Mangalathu Govindan, a close associate of Kunjuraman and a greatupāsaka (follower) of LordBalarama. According to their agreement she would cohabit with Kunjuraman for a year on the condition that she would become a devotee ofNarasimha after the year was up.[3][13] She accordingly spent one year with Kunjuraman and later was installed at a temple which later came to be owned by Kanjiracottu Valiaveedu, though this temple no longer exists.
Sundara Lakshmi, an accomplished dancer and consort of HHSwathi Thirunal Rama Varma, was an ardent devotee of Kanjirottu Yakshi Amma.
The Kanjirottu yakshi is now said to reside in Vault B ofSri Padmanabhaswamy Temple inThiruvananthapuram,Kerala, which supposedly also contains an enormous treasure.[15] The enchanting and ferocious forms of this Yakshi are painted on the south-west part of Sri Padmanabha's shrine. The vault remains unopened due to ongoing legal issues[16] and the legend of the Yakshi, whom some believe will wreak havoc on the world if her prayers to Lord Narasimha within Vault B are disturbed by opening the vault.
InChina,Taiwan, andJapan yakshni are famous and well-known, such asHariti, one of theTwenty-Four Protective Deities who are venerated as defenders of the Buddhistdharma inMahayana Buddhism. The Kishimojin (Hariti) temple inZoushigaya,Tokyo is dedicated to her.[17][18]
InThailand, yakshni are known and worshiped as deity guardians inTai Folk religion andThai folklore, showing the influence of Buddhism and Hinduism onThai culture. Yakshini have spirit houses and shrines devoted to them asTutelary deities in Thai folk religion. Examples include Nang Phisuea Samudra (ศาลนางผีเสื้อสมุทร), considered the deity guardian of Phisuea Samut Fort,Phra Samut Chedi District,Samut Prakan Province,Seang Chan Beach inMueang Rayong district, andRayong province;[19][20][21][22][23] Nang Suphanapsron chomtevi (นางสุพรรณอัปสรจอมเทวี), considered the deity guardian of Wat Nang thakian (วัดนางตะเคียน) inMueang Samut Songkhram district, andSamut Songkhram province;[24][25][26] and Nang Panturat (ศาลนางพันธุรัตน์) from theSang Thong, considered the deity guardian of Khao Nang Panthurat Forest Park, Khao Yai Sup district,Cha-am district, andPhetchaburi province.[27]
InMyanmar, yakshni are known and worshiped as deity guardians in Myanmar folk religion andBurmese folklore, showing the influence of Buddhism and Hinduism onBurmese culture. Examples includePopa Medaw, thedeity guardian ofPopa mountain, and the yakshni deity guardian of theShwedagon Pagoda.
