Yaksha

The Yakshas (Sanskrit: यक्ष, IAST: Yakṣa, Pali: Yakkha) are a broad class of nature spirits in Hindu mythology which are associated with water, trees, forests, wilderness, treasure, and fertility. They are usually considered benevolent, and sometimes mischievous or capricious. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, as well as ancient and medieval temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia as guardian deities. The feminine form of the word is IAST: Yakṣī or Yakshini (Sanskrit: यक्षिणी, IAST: Yakṣiṇī; Pali: Yakkhini). In Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, the yakṣas have a dual personality. A yakṣa may be an inoffensive nature spirit associated with woods and mountains, or a darker version of the yakṣa which is a kind of bhoota (ghost) that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travellers, similar to the rakṣasas. A unique cultural dance form related to the Yakshas is Yakshagana. Yakshagana is a traditional stage performance, found in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kasaragod district and Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka.