Category:Yaksas
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda provides a deep philosophical analysis of the Yakṣas, describing them as universal living entities generally dominated by the mode of ignorance and closely aligned with asuras and Rākṣasas. Born from the creation of night and associated with hunger, thirst, and the protection of material wealth, the Yakṣas often act as cosmic disruptors or planetary forces that can cause physical and mental disturbances. The scriptures feature them prominently in the history of Alakāpurī, where Dhruva Mahārāja launched a massive military campaign against them to avenge the death of his innocent brother, Uttama. Through this historical conflict, Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights key kṣatriya qualities, the overwhelming power of the Lord's weapons, and the essential instructions of Svāyambhuva Manu regarding the subduing of material anger and the recognition of eternal time as the supreme cause of cosmic events. Ultimately, Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes the boundlessly merciful nature of pure devotional service, which allows any living entity—whether a Yakṣa, Rākṣasa, or conditioned human being—to transcend their lower birth and be elevated into the transcendental family of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- The Dark Origin and Material Nature: Yakṣas are generated from the quality of ignorance and the creation of night, manifesting characteristics of intense hunger, thirst, and a fierce, protective attitude over material wealth and riches.
- The Duty of Cosmic Retribution: Following the unprovoked killing of his innocent brother Uttama, Dhruva Mahārāja executed his royal duty as a king by declaring war and single-handedly invading the Yakṣa capital of Alakāpurī.
- Straightforward Prowess and Warrior Ethics: Despite being bitter adversaries, the Yakṣa soldiers exhibited a genuine kṣatriya spirit, actively appreciating the marvelous martial skills and unparalleled bowmanship of Dhruva Mahārāja on the battlefield.
- Subduing Anger Through Spiritual Injunctions: Svāyambhuva Manu intervened in the catastrophic war to check his grandson's escalating fury, warning him that the indiscriminate slaughter of innocent Yakṣa citizens was a path to hellish life that defiled their religious lineage.
- Recognizing Time as the Supreme Cause: Through the profound instructions of Manu, Dhruva Mahārāja was taught to look beyond material dualities and see that neither the Yakṣas nor humans are the ultimate killers or creators, but rather all are moving under the absolute orchestration of eternal time.
- Transcendental Reward of Auspicious Death: Because they were slain by a topmost pure devotee of the Lord, the Yakṣas who fell in battle achieved an immensely auspicious destination, ascending to a higher planetary system usually reserved only for perfect, life-long brahmacārīs.
- Universal Elevation Through Pure Devotion: The ultimate glory of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava philosophy is that any living entity, including Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, or uncivilized meat-eaters, can completely revive their original spiritual identity simply by taking shelter of the holy name.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: The Yakṣas and the Great Battle of Alakāpurī.
Subcategories
This category has the following 3 subcategories, out of 3 total.
Pages in category "Yaksas"
The following 92 pages are in this category, out of 92 total.
1
A
- A yaksa, a protector of riches, will not allow anyone to take away riches for enjoyment. Such a demon will simply create disturbances
- According to one's receptiveness - whether one be a devata, asura, Yaksa or Raksasa - Krsna's quality is proportionately exhibited
- Actually only one of the citizens, not all of them, was guilty of killing his brother, Uttama. Dhruva Maharaja, of course, took a very serious step when his brother was killed by the Yaksas. War was declared, and the fighting was going on
- Actually, you have not killed the Yaksas, nor have they killed your brother, for the ultimate cause of generation and annihilation is the eternal time feature of the Supreme Lord
- All living entities are created by the Supreme Lord according to their past deeds. This includes Asuras, Yaksas, Kinnaras and angels, the serpentines, the monkey-shaped Kimpurusas, the human beings, the inhabitants of Matrloka and the demons
- Although Prahlada's mother was in the conditional state and was the wife of a demon, even Yaksas, Raksasas, women, sudras and even birds and other lower living entities can be elevated to the acyuta-gotra, the family of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
B
- Below the abodes of the Yaksas and Raksasas by a distance of 100 yojanas (800 miles) is the planet earth. Its upper limits extend as high as swans, hawks, eagles and similar large birds can fly
- Beneath Vidyadhara-loka, Caranaloka and Siddhaloka, in the sky called antariksa, are the places of enjoyment for the Yaksas, Raksasas, Pisacas, ghosts and so on
- Brahma, the head of the demigods, full of anxiety, asked them, "Do not eat me, but protect me. You are born from me and have become my sons. Therefore you are Yaksas and Raksasas"
C
- Citralekha, while talking, began to draw many pictures of the demigods inhabiting the higher planetary systems, then pictures of the Gandharvas, Siddhas, Caranas, Pannagas, Daityas, Vidyadharas and Yaksas, as well as many pictures of human beings
- Cruel and savage slogans were uttered by hosts of ruffian Yaksas and Raksasas, who all either marched on foot or rode on horses, elephants or chariots
D
- Demons were born from the creation of night, and the demigods were born from the creation of day. In other words, demons like the Yaksas and Raksasas are born of the quality of ignorance, and demigods are born of the quality of goodness
- Dhruva Maharaja attacked Alakapuri, the city of the Yaksas, because his brother was killed by one of them
- Dhruva Maharaja was advised to stop fighting by his grandfather, who was concerned that Dhruva was adhering to a personal ambition to fight to annihilate the whole race of Yaksas
- Dhruva Maharaja was the king, and when his brother was unceremoniously killed, it was his duty to take revenge against the Yaksas from the Himalayas
- Dhruva Maharaja was their enemy, but still, upon witnessing the wonderful, heroic acts of Maharaja Dhruva, they were very pleased with him. This straightforward appreciation of an enemy's prowess is a characteristic of real ksatriya spirit
- Dhruva Maharaja, who was a great charioteer and certainly a great bowman also, immediately began to kill them (the greatly powerful heroes of the Yaksas from Alakapuri) by simultaneously discharging arrows three at a time
H
- He then saw that his residence was vacant, having been abandoned by his brothers and other relatives, who were living in all directions because of fear of such higher living beings as the Yaksas
- Here (in SB 4.11.7) Lord Manu prohibited Dhruva Maharaja from killing the Yaksas because only one of them was punishable for killing his brother, Uttama; not all of the Yaksa citizens were punishable
- Here Dhruva Maharaja is compared to the sun and the great assembly of the Yaksas to foggy mist. Fog is insignificant in comparison with the sun
- His brother, Uttama, was without fault, yet he was killed by one of the Yaksas. It was the duty of Dhruva Maharaja to kill the offender (life for life) because Dhruva was the king
I
- In the conditional state, people are attracted to worship demigods, ghosts, or Yaksas like Kuvera. BG 1972 purports
- In the conditional state, people are attracted to worshiping demigods, ghosts, or Yaksas like Kuvera
- In this verse it is stated that the Yaksas are more or less devotees of Lord Siva. By this indication the Yaksas may be taken to be the Himalayan tribes like the Tibetans
- Indirectly Manu pointed out to Dhruva Maharaja that out of material affection Dhruva thought of his brother as his kin and the Yaksas as his enemies
K
- Kindly help me pound to pieces the evil living beings known as Kusmandas, Vainayakas, Yaksas, Raksasas, Bhutas and Grahas. Please pulverize them
- Ksatriyas are meant to rule over a country; Dhruva Maharaja, for example, in the course of ruling, had to fight and kill many Yaksas. Such action is necessary for ksatriyas
- Kuvera assured him (Dhruva Maharaja) that factually he had not killed any of the Yaksas; therefore, he was not at all sinful. He did his duty as a king, as it is ordered by the laws of nature
L
- Like the most experienced evil stars, they (evil witches known as Dakinis, Yatudhanis, Kusmandas and evil spirits like Bhutas, Pretas, Pisacas, Yaksas, Raksasas, Vinayakas) all create great disturbances, especially for children - SB 10.6.27-29
- Lord Manu said: My dear son, please stop. It is not good to become unnecessarily angry - it is the path to hellish life. Now you are going beyond the limit by killing Yaksas who are actually not offenders
- Lord Manu stated that Dhruva Maharaja had been offensive to Lord Siva and his brother Kuvera because the Yaksas belonged to Kuvera's family. They were not ordinary persons. As such, they have been described as punya janan, pious men
- Lord Manu wanted to change the vision of Dhruva Maharaja, who was looking upon the Yaksas as different from him or as his enemies
M
- Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, as soon as Dhruva Maharaja reached Alakapuri, he immediately blew his conchshell, and the sound reverberated throughout the entire sky and in every direction. The wives of the Yaksas became very much frightened
- Many hundreds and thousands of demons, demi-demons, Yaksas, Raksasas (man-eater) and others, headed by Sumali and Mali, resisted the armies of King Indra, which even death personified cannot easily overcome
- My dear Dhruva, you thought that the Yaksas killed your brother, and therefore you have killed great numbers of them. But by this action you have agitated the mind of Lord Siva's brother Kuvera, who is the treasurer of the demigods
- My dear son, it has been proved that you are very much affectionate towards your brother and are greatly aggrieved at his being killed by the Yaksas, but just consider - for one Yaksa's offense, you have killed many others, who are innocent
- My dear son, the killing of the sinless Yaksas which you have undertaken is not at all approved by authorities, and it does not befit our family, which is supposed to know the laws of religion and irreligion
- My dear son, those Yaksas, who are descendants of Kuvera, are not actually the killers of your brother; the birth and death of every living entity are caused by the Supreme, who is certainly the cause of all causes
- My dear Vidura, when thus asked to accept a benediction from Kuvera the Yaksaraja, Dhruva Maharaja, that most elevated pure devotee, who was an intelligent and thoughtful king, begged that he might have unflinching faith in and remembrance of the SPG
O
- O my friends, O sons of demons, everyone, including you (the Yaksas and Raksasas), the unintelligent women, sudras and cowherd men, the birds, the lower animals and the sinful living entities, can revive his original, eternal spiritual life
- Ocean of the Yaksas
- Out of disgust, Brahma threw off the body of ignorance, and taking this opportunity, Yaksas and Raksasas sprang for possession of the body, which continued to exist in the form of night. Night is the source of hunger and thirst
S
- Sati was going very fast so that she might not be checked by her husband, but she was immediately followed by the many thousands of disciples of Lord Siva, headed by the Yaksas, Maniman and Mada
- Satyasena, along with His friend Satyajit, who was the King of heaven, Indra, killed all the untruthful, impious and misbehaved Yaksas, Raksasas and ghostly living entities, who gave pains to other living beings
- Separating their arms, legs, heads and bellies from their bodies, he delivered the Yaksas to the planetary system which is situated above the sun globe and which is attainable only by first-class brahmacaris, who have never discharged their semen
- Similarly, fourteen other saints, Gandharvas, Apsaras, Nagas, Yaksas, Raksasas and demigods, who are divided into groups of two, assume different names every month and continuously perform different ritualistic ceremonies to worship the Supreme Lord
- Similarly, when the mode of passion is prominent the demons flourish, and when ignorance is prominent the Yaksas and Raksasas flourish
- Simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord, one can surpass the ocean of death, so Dhruva Maharaja was certainly able to surpass the illusory magical feats of the Yaksas, which for the time being disturbed his mind
- Sukadeva Gosvami recited 1,400,000 verses of the Mahabharata in the councils of the Gandharvas, Yaksas and Raksasas, and he recited Srimad-Bhagavatam for the first time in the presence of Maharaja Pariksit
- Svayambhuva Manu wanted to impress on Dhruva Maharaja that the death of the material body of his brother was not actually the Yaksas' fault; it was an act of the material nature
T
- The angelic dancers approached, as did the Gandharvas, the Caranas, the Yaksas, the inhabitants of Kinnaraloka, the Vetalas, the inhabitants of Kimpurusa-loka, and the personal servants of Visnu like Sunanda and Kumuda
- The creation of the demigods is of eight varieties: (1) the demigods, (2) the forefathers, (3) the asuras, or demons, (4) the Gandharvas and Apsaras, or angels, (5) the Yaksas and Raksasas, (6) the Siddhas, Caranas and Vidyadharas
- The demigods, the forefathers, the asuras, or demons, the Gandharvas and Apsaras, or angels, the Yaksas and Raksasas, the Siddhas, Caranas and Vidyadharas, the Bhutas, Pretas and Pisacas, and the superhuman beings, celestial singers, etc
- The demon Yaksas are by nature very heinous, and by their demoniac power of illusion they can create many strange phenomena to frighten one who is less intelligent
- The demons or demoniac persons - the Gandharvas, the Siddhas, the Vidyadharas, the Caranas, the Yaksas, the Raksasas, the Pisacas, the ghosts and the hobgoblins - are by nature incapable of worshiping You (Balarama) or becoming Your devotees
- The demons who were born from the body of Brahma were called Yaksas and Raksasas because some of them cried that Brahma should be eaten and the others cried that he should not be protected
- The different manifestations of Lord Siva, the Adityas, the Vasus, the Sadhyas, the Visvadevas, the two Asvins, the Maruts, the forefathers and the Gandharvas, the Yaksas, Asuras, and all perfected demigods are beholding You in wonder. BG 11.22 - 1972
- The evil spirits like Bhutas, Pretas, Pisacas, Yaksas, Raksasas and Vinayakas, are always ready to give trouble to the body, the life air and the senses, causing loss of memory, madness and bad dreams
- The great rsis approached Dhruva Maharaja at a time when his mind was very perplexed due to the magical feats exhibited by the Yaksas
- The great sage Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, Dhruva Maharaja's anger subsided, and he completely ceased killing Yaksas. When Kuvera, the most blessed master of the treasury, learned this news, he appeared before Dhruva
- The inhabitants of the different planetary systems, Gandharvas, Apsaras, Yaksas, Raksas, Bhutaganas, Uragas, Pasus, Pitas, Siddhas, Vidyadharas, Caranas are all covered by the universal form of the Lord at all times, namely past, present and future
- The inhabitants of Yaksaloka prayed: O controller of the twenty-four elements, we are considered the best servants of Your Lordship because of rendering services pleasing to You, yet we engaged as palanquin carriers by the order of Hiranyakasipu
- The leader of the Yaksas and Raksasas is Kuvera, the master treasurer of the demigods, and he is a representation of the Supreme Lord
- The leaders of such degraded men known as Yaksas, Raksasas, bhutas and pisacas, are all in the mode of ignorance. They have been placed under the control of Rudra
- The leaders of the Gandharva planets, the leaders of the Vidyadhara planets, the leaders of the Caranaloka planets, the leaders of the Yaksas, Raksas and Uragas, appear to be the specific truth and the form of the Lord, but actually they are not so
- The Lord was accompanied by the residents of Siddhaloka and Vidyadhara-loka, all the descendants of Diti, and the demons and the Yaksas. He was also accompanied by His chief associates, headed by Sunanda and Nanda
- The ones who said that he (Brahma) should be eaten were called Yaksas, and the ones who said that he should not be protected became Raksasas, man-eaters
- The pious wives of the Yaksas act as personal maidservants to assist Bhavani, the wife of Siva. Because they drink the water of the River Arunoda, their bodies become fragrant, and as the air carries away that fragrance, it perfumes the entire atmosphere
- The remaining Yaksas who somehow or other were not killed had their limbs cut to pieces by the arrows of the great warrior Dhruva Maharaja. Thus they began to flee, just as elephants flee when defeated by a lion
- The representatives of the Yaksas and Raksasas still exist in some countries of the world. It is understood that such uncivilized men take pleasure in killing their own grandfathers and holding a "love feast" by roasting the bodies
- The two, Yaksas and Raksasas, are the original creation by Brahma and are represented even until today in the uncivilized men who are scattered all over the universe
- The Yaksas, being temporarily victorious, exclaimed that they had conquered Dhruva Maharaja. But in the meantime Dhruva's chariot suddenly appeared, just as the sun suddenly appears from within foggy mist
- The Yaksas, Raksasas, ghosts and witches, who are habituated to eating flesh, transformed Lord Siva's incarnation Rudra (Bhutanatha) into a calf and milked out beverages made of blood and put them in a pot made of skulls
- There is nothing peculiar looking about Yaksas and Raksasas; they are meat eaters. Just as meat eaters in the ordinary world do not look different. You may show them eating meat, or something like that
- To be killed by the Lord or by His devotees is auspicious for nondevotees. The Yaksas were killed indiscriminately by Dhruva Maharaja, but they attained the planetary system attainable only for brahmacaris who never discharged their semen
W
- When Svayambhuva Manu saw that his grandson Dhruva Maharaja was killing so many of the Yaksas who were not actually offenders, out of his great compassion he approached Dhruva with great sages to give him good instruction
- When the challenge came, Dhruva Maharaja fought vehemently and punished the Yaksas sufficiently. But anger is such that if one increases it, it increases unlimitedly
- When the master of the treasury addressed him as sinless, Dhruva Maharaja, considering himself responsible for killing so many Yaksas, might have thought himself otherwise
- When the sun sets on the horizon, it appears that the sun drowns in the ocean, but factually the sun has no difficulty. Similarly, although Dhruva appeared to drown in the ocean of the Yaksas, he had no difficulty
- When they saw Sati leaving alone very rapidly, thousands of Lord Siva's disciples, headed by Maniman and Mada, quickly followed her with his bull Nandi in front and accompanied by the Yaksas
- When Vamanadeva had thus been given the sacred thread, Kuvera, King of the Yaksas, gave Him a pot for begging alms, and mother Bhagavati, the wife of Lord Siva and most chaste mother of the entire universe, gave Him His first alms
- While being worshiped by Yaksas, Kinnaras and Caranas, he spoke to Dhruva Maharaja, who stood before him with folded hands
- While walking among the Gandharvas, Yaksas, asuras, Siddhas, Caranas and denizens of heaven, Laksmidevi, the goddess of fortune, was scrutinizingly examining them, but she could not find anyone naturally endowed with all good qualities
- Worshiping the most powerful demigod Surya, the Yaksas guard the chariot, and the saints called the Valikhilyas surround the sun-god and offer prayers