1 / 1

Yaksha

Yaksha · Nature Spirit of India and Buddhism — A Two-Faced Spirit Guarding Treasure

A nature and wealth spirit of Indian myth and Buddhism. Guarding forests, trees, and underground treasure, it follows Kubera, god of wealth. It is both a benevolent guardian granting abundance and fertility and a fierce, man-eating demon — an ambivalent being. In East Asian Buddhism it is told as one of the eight legions that guard the dharma.

Origin

Derived from the yaksha, the nature spirit of ancient Indian indigenous belief. Absorbed into Hinduism and Buddhism, it became a retainer of the wealth-god Kubera and a guardian of the dharma; transmitted to East Asia as 'yacha,' its fierce-demon image was emphasized.

Features

Guardian of forests, trees, and underground treasure
A retainer following Kubera, god of wealth
Benevolence granting abundance and a man-eating ferocity
One of the eight legions that guard the dharma

Stories

Appears as a guardian of treasure and sanctuary, a testing gatekeeper, and an ambivalent spirit. Used in Eastern mythic narratives dealing with the duality of mercy and wrath, protection and threat.

Weakness

The two faces of mercy and wrath are unstable; it rages at sacrilege and greed. Before the dharma, mantras, and the righteous, it returns to its guardian's duty and cannot do harm.