Yaksha

Yaksha (Sanskrit: यक्ष yakṣa, Tamil: யகன் yakan, இயக்கன் iyakan,[1] Odia: ଯକ୍ଷ jôkhyô, Pali: yakkha)[2] are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous and sexually aggressive or capricious caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots.[3] They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, as well as ancient and medieval era temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia as guardian deities.[3][4] The feminine form of the word is yakṣī[5] or Yakshini (yakṣiṇī).[6]
In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist texts, the yakṣa has a dual personality. On the one hand, a yakṣa may be an inoffensive nature-fairy, associated with woods and mountains; but there is also a darker version of the yakṣa, which is a kind of ghost (bhuta) that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travelers, similar to the rakṣasas.
Category:Spirits
Category:Indian words and phrases
Category:Non-human races in Hindu mythology
Category:Tutelary deities
Category:Yaksha Kingdom
Category:Nature spirits
Category:Characters in the Mahabharata