Lalit Gupta
Being an inalienable part of Bharatiya Sanskriti, Jammu and Kashmir’s everyday religio-social and cultural life exhibits lingering strains of pre-historic beliefs associated with shamanism and animism and traces of pre-Vedic cultic practices.
The Yaksha worship, now completely faded into history, was a pre-Vedic cult that flourished in Bharata and its neighbouring countries. Yaksas were nature spirits associated with fertility, wealth, and the protection of localities, often linked with forest and mountain deities. As a major component of early religious practices, particularly in regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Yaksha veneration extended beyond the ritualistic to an integral part of daily life, folk religion, and local customs.
Over time, the Yaksha cult was absorbed into the wider religious traditions, notably Brahmanism, Jainism, and Buddhism, demonstrating the syncretic nature of Indian spiritual practices.
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In later literature, the Yaksas are usually bracketed with the Asuras, Rakshasas and Pischas and placed in the category of demi-gods like Vidyadharas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Guhyakas, Siddhas and Bhutas. These demi-gods share some peculiar characteristics so that distinction in their worship is often blurred.
Buddhist chronicle Divavamsha of the 4th century CE, mentions Yakshas in association with the Himalayas, which were seen as auspicious and powerful areas inhabited by these spirits. According to the Divyavadana, Yakshas were not only worshipped but were also used by Emperor Ashoka to build stupas (Chetiyas) and serve as mercenaries in the Indian subcontinent. Mahamayuri, a text compiled in about the 3rd century CE catalogues a long list of Yakshas together with the names of places where their worship was prevalent. For example, in Sakala (Sialkot) was Sarvabhadra, Prabhamkara in Kashmir, and Panchika and his 500 sons in the confines of Kashmir. Yaksha Manibhadra was the presiding deity of caravan leaders in the north.
Like other parts of Bharata, Yaksha worship was widespread in Jammu and Kashmir. In Kashmir, the ancient practice of Yaksha worship survives today in the form of Khechmavas (Yakshamavasya) observed on Paush Krishna Paksha Amavasya (December-January). This festival, during which khichri is offered as a sacrificial food to Kubera, the god of wealth (and the king of Yakshas), underscores how the ancient Yaksha cult has been integrated into more contemporary forms of worship, even as its original structure has faded over time.
The ritual of anointing stones with sandalwood paste and vermilion, accompanied by Naivedya mantras, suggests that the symbolism of the Yaksha as a guardian of the natural world and protector of wealth and prosperity continues to thrive in the folk practices of the region. The idea that the Yaksha (as Kubera) would “come to eat” the offering is a reflection of the animistic belief in the presence of spirits and deities in the natural world, blurring the line between the material and spiritual realms.
In the Jammu region, the memory of Yaksha worship today endures in the form of several place names that not only provide a fascinating linguistic trace of the ancient Yaksha worship but also point out that these sites were once significant centres of Yaksha veneration.
The suffix “Jakh”, present in numerous place names such as Jakh-bhad, Jakh (Sarore-Samba), Jakhaini (Udhampur), and Jakhed (Lati, Sudhmahadev), serves as a living reminder of the Yaksha worship that once thrived in these areas.
The etymology of the word Yaksha (also Yakkha in Pali, Jakhkha in Prakrit) and its derivations in regional dialects, such as Jakha in Dogri, indicate that these spirits were deeply integrated into the local religious fabric. The persistence of these names reflects how Yaksha worship permeated the everyday life of the people, transforming into place markers that continued to define the geography long after the cult itself had been absorbed into other religious practices.
The traces of Yaksha worship in the place names of the Jammu region reveal much about the pre-Vedic and early historic beliefs of the people of this area. Through these place names, we are offered a glimpse into the region’s ancient spiritual and cultural past. The persistence of terms like Jakha and Jakh in the modern toponymy of Jammu serves as a testament to the continuity of indigenous religious practices, even as they gradually adapted or merged with later religious traditions. This blending of old and new, indigenous and imported, remains a key feature of the region’s religious and cultural evolution.
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