Yaksha The yakshas (यक्ष Sanskrit: yakṣa; Pali: yakkha) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. 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. The feminine form of the word is yakṣī or yakshini (यक्षिणी Sanskrit: yakṣiṇī; Pali: yakkhinī). In Hindu, Jain,…
Yuga In Hinduism, a yuga (Sanskrit: युग, romanized: yuga, lit. ‘age’) is an epoch or era. There are a total of four yugas—Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga—each having 1/4th less duration and dharma than the previous, with a proportion of 4:3:2:1 (Satya most, Kali least). These four yugas combined make a larger cyclic age called a Yuga Cycle or Maha Yuga. In Brahma’s calendar, we are in…
Yuga In Hinduism, a yuga (Sanskrit: युग, romanized: yuga, lit. ‘age’) is an epoch or era. There are a total of four yugas—Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga—each having 1/4th less duration and dharma than the previous, with a proportion of 4:3:2:1 (Satya most, Kali least). These four yugas combined make a larger cyclic age called a Yuga Cycle or Maha Yuga. In Brahma’s calendar, we are in…
Yamuna The Yamuna, also known as the Jumna or Jamna, is the second largest tributary river of the Ganges (Ganga) and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of 6,387 metres (20,955 ft) on the southwestern slopes of Banderpooch peaks of the Lower Himalaya in Uttarakhand, it travels a total length of 1,376 kilometres (855 mi) and has a drainage system of 366,223 square…
Yadu Yadu is one of the five Indian tribes (panchajana, panchakrishtya or panchamanusha) mentioned in the Rig Veda. Krishna is the descendant of Yadu from Vedic tribe. The Mahabharata, the Harivamsha and the Puranas mention Yadu as the eldest son of king Yayati and his queen Devayani. Yadu was a self-respecting and a very established ruler. According to the Vishnu Purana, the Bhagavata Purana and the Garuda Purana, Yadu…
Yama In Mahabharata Yama is one of the four Dikpalakas – the others being Indra, Varuna and Kubera. He is also lord of death. Yama Sabha Yama Sabha is described by Narada to Yudhishthira when the former visited Maya Sabha at Indraprastha. Narada says, “The assembly house of Yama, the…
Yudhishthira The eldest of the Pandavas, son of Kunti from lord Dharma. on the 12th day of war