Yaksha
Yaksha are creatures usually characterized as having dual personalities, found in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. On the one hand, a Yaksha may be an inoffensive nature-fairy, associated with woods and mountains; a darker version of the Yaksha, a kind of anthropophagic ogre, ghost, or demon who haunts the wilderness and waylays, and devours travelers.
↻ synthesized from 18 sources
When
- First attested
- 500 BCE
- Attested period
- -500 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Attested in Hindu mythology.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Tiyanak, Lamia, Māui, Baba Yaga, Changeling, Doppelgänger, Empousa, Huay Chivo, Nahual, Kelpie, Moura Encantada, Mangkukulam, Nixie, Saci, Tengu, Verechelen, Yogoe, Yaoguai, Yokai, Yuki-onna, Yuxa, Yacumama, Yacuruna, Yadōkai, Yagyō-san, Yakubyō-gami, Yali, Yallery-Brown, Yama-biko, Yama-bito, Yama-chichi, Yama-inu, Yama-otoko, Yamata no Orochi, Yama-waro, Yanari, Yara-ma-yha-who, Yatagarasu, Yato-no-kami, Yeth hound, Yilbegän, Yobuko, Yomotsu-shikome, Yong, Yōsei, Yosuzume, You Hun Ye Gui, Yowie, Yuan Gui, Yukinko, Yūrei, Gwisin, kishin, Yakṣī, Yakṣas, Yakkhas, Bhagiratha, gandharvas, Four Heavenly Kings, kumbhandas, Acala, Lokapala, Jaya-Vijaya, Stuta, yamauba, Deva, nats, Chakreshvari, Padmāvatī, Shri Ambikadevi, Rakshasa, Sulochana, Kubera, Pañcika, Yaksha Mudgarpani, Yakshi, Indrakshi Durga, Manibhadra, Mudgarpani, Yakshini, Al Ana, Diwata, huli jing, kitsune, Kodama, Mogwai, pari-pari, Peris, Tien, demons, Ala, jinn, Monkey King, Aswang, Banshee, Yama, Engkanto, kali, Varuna, Kami, Nāgas, Ashura
- aspect of
- guishen
- allied with
- Yakshini
- consort of
- Yakshi
- syncretized with
- Dionysos
Mentioned by
- Al Ana
- Diwata
- huli jing
- kitsune
- Kodama
- Mogwai
- pari-pari
- Peris
- Tien
- demons
- Ala
- jinn
- Monkey King
- Aswang
- Banshee
- Yama
and 8 more
Sources
Source passages
“Yaksha are creatures usually characterized as having dual personalities, found in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. On the one hand, a Yaksha may be an inoffensive nature-fairy, associated with woods and mountains; a darker version of the Yaksha, a kind of anthropophagic ogre, ghost, or demon who haunts the wilderness and waylays, and devours travelers.”
#4301 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Yaksha”
#5328 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Yaksha (Buddhist, Hindu, and Jainism) – Male nature spirit”
#5518 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Note that Hinduist-Buddhist demons yaksha (yakṣa) and rakshasa (rākṣasa) may also be expressed as types of guishen, i.e., yiecha-guishen (夜叉鬼神), etc.”
#6485 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Dvarapalas as an architectural feature have their origin in tutelary deities, like Yaksha, and warrior figures, such as Acala, of the local popular religion.”
#9328 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001