Yaksha Cult and Iconography

Yakshas afford an opportunity to comprehend how something which was conceptually fluid in the beginning eventually assumed a corporeality invested with character and attributes, and through a historical process of transformation altered so much that what had originally started as a nebulous idea, somewhat enigmatic in its content, ultimately assumed demonic attributes and functions. There is a queer touch of both sacred and profane in the character of Yakshas and their worship, though only 'profane' survived through the Vedic age to the later historical times. The book, Yaksha Cult and Iconography, interprets Yakshas in reference to their genesis, development, pantheon, worship, iconography and images-all within the purview of the cult of Yakshas. It furnishes both the literary evidence concerning Yakshas and Yakshinis and their characteristic features and styles as evidenced by the reliefs and images depicting them.