Yakshinis or Yakshis (Sanskrit: यक्षिणी, IAST: Yakṣinī or Yakṣī, Prakrit: Yakkhiṇī or Yakkhī) are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from Devas and Asuras and Gandharvas or Apsaras.

She is a cultural mirror that reflects shifting attitudes toward gender, justice, and power. Once depicted as a cautionary figure whose rage and defiance were painted as monstrous, she is now increasingly understood as a woman wronged, whose vengeance carried deeper social meaning. Modern interpretations see her not as a demonic presence but as a... See more