Yakshini

Yakshini, also spelled yakṣiṇī, is the feminine counterpart of the male nature spirit yakṣa in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology. Yakshas and yakshinis are part of a broader class of semi-divine beings associated with nature, water, forests, mountains, and hidden treasures. Yakshinis are often regarded as guardians of fertility and prosperity and as protectors of treasure hoards; in some folk traditions they may grant wealth or resources, while in others they can be capricious or dangerous if invoked without proper respect. They are typically imagined as beautiful women or young figures and can appear as benevolent attendants of deities as well as powerful protective spirits.

In ancient Indian art and literature, yakshinis appear on temple sculpture and in myths as symbolic embodiments of vitality and the abundance of nature. They are described as attendants to yakṣas or as individual presiding spirits of specific natural sites such as groves, rivers, or springs. The concept also travels into Southeast Asian Buddhist and Hindu iconography, where similar feminine nature spirits are depicted in guardian or auspicious roles.

Yakshini are distinct from rakshasis (female demons) and from the masculine yakṣa; in popular belief the line between guardian and peril can blur, reflecting a broader ambivalence in Hindu and Buddhist folklore toward powerful nature spirits. In diverse communities, yakshini are honored or propitiated in local traditions as protectors of land, households, and wells.