In this post we begin our journey of ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE to explore YAKSHA
The history of Yaksha - Yakshi cult is a fascinating one. They have a special place in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Etymologically, the words Yaksha and Yakshi have their origins in “yas”, “yak” or “yaj”, meaning “mysterious”, “marvellous”, or “semi-divine beings”. People in rural areas worshipped them as guardian deities that resided in a formless manner on trees, in rivers, lakes and ponds, and on highways. People made offerings to the trees, rivers or lakes where they believed Yakshas resided. Later, the Brahminical religion, Jainism and Buddhism took Yakshas into the fold and converted them into secondary deities. The famous Yaksha Prashna episode in Aranyaparva of the Mahabharatha, where Yaksha questions Dharmaraya, gives an excellent explanation of art of living and the Dharma. In Buddhist and Jain art sculptures, Yakshas are depicted as associates and attendant deities of Bodhisatvas and Thirthankaras. Yaksha worship co-existed with priest conducted sacrifices of vedic period.
Yakshas are referred to diverse kind of beings
- super human or sub - human or extra terrestrials coming down to earth. They
are powerful magicians who change their size, shape, disappear or fly as per
their will and wish. The classic Indian epics the Mahabharatha and the Ramayana refer to yakshas as a tribe ruled over
the Himalayan kingdom. Kubera is the king of the yakshas.
Kalidasa
used Yaksha as the central character in his lyrical Sanskrit work ‘Meghadoota’.
The popular ‘Yakshagana’, the traditional theatre of coastal and malnad regions
of Karnataka, literally means the song (gana) of a Yaksha.
In
many regions of India there is a folk tradition of worshiping Yaksha. People in
tribal areas and rural areas worship Yaksha as a deity of the forest, lake or
well. An interesting large image of Yaksha is found in Haigunda island near
Honnavar in Uttara Kannada District. The image, dated to 2nd or 3rd
c AD, is 1.69m tall. The Yaksha at Haigunda exhibits Graeco - Roman influence
in his dressing. He has broad face, knotted hair at the top with a strand of
beads tied to it. His earrings are big in size and round in shape and appear
like having the tiger face at the end of the drop. The earrings entwine the
earlobes. A broad necklace adorns his neck. His head gear is very interesting.
It’s like a band and on the right side just above the ear, it has a circular
shaped jewellery with ribbon like droppings at the center. The right hand of
Yaksha is broken but a close look at the arm reveals the presence of armlet.
The left hand rests on his waist and has a big ‘Kada’ (a bracelet). The Yaksha
has a pot belly surrounded by a waist band which is tied on both the sides and
the excess cloth with folds hangs on sides reaching till ground.
The
villagers of Haigunda have high regards for Yaksha. They call him ‘Bobri’ and
believe that he is the protector of the island. Legend says that Yaksha used to
signal the locals with a ‘cockoo’ sound to indicate a danger. Local people say
that when the British tried to trespass the island to take the hidden treasure,
Yaksha made a loud ‘cockoo’ sound to wake up the villagers and the British had
to retreat in vain. Yaksha at Haigunda signifies strength and protection.
Villagers worship Yaksha with kumkum (vermillion) and areca flowers and one has
to be barefoot to go near Yaksha.
Haigunda
has rich historical and cultural heritage. The calm island may lose its
serenity with the proposed bridge construction. What is going to happen to this
beautiful idol of Yaksha is the real ‘Yaksha Prashne’. Will Yaksha wake up the villagers with his
‘cockoo’ again? Or the enlightened villagers volunteer to protect their
protector?
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