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YAKSHAS AND YAKSHINIS
The following provides a brief description of commonly found Yakshas and Yakshinis in Jain temples:
Chakreshwari Devi She is the dedicated attendant deity of lord Adi Näth (Rishabhadev). She is also known as Apratichakrä. The color of this goddess is golden. Her vehicle is an eagle. She has eight arms. In her four right hands she holds the blessing Mudrä (posture), arrow, rope and wheel. In her four left hands she holds the rein, the bow, the protective weapon of Indra, and the wheel.
Ambika Devi She is the dedicated deity of Lord Nemi-Näth the 22 Tirthankar. She is also known as Ambai Amba and Amra Kushmändini. Her color is golden and the lion is her vehicle. She has four arms. In her one right hands she carries a mango in one hand and in the other a branch of a mango tree. In one left hand she carries a rein and in the other she has her two sons.
Padmavati Devi She is the dedicated deity of Lord Pärshva-Näth, the 23" Tirthankar. Her color is golden and her vehicle is a snake with a cock's head. She has four arms. Her two right hands hold a lotus and a rosary and two left hands hold a fruit and a rein.
Saraswati Devi Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, is considered to be the source of all learning. Her divine energy is the source of spiritual light, eradicator of all ignorance and promoter of all knowledge. She is respected and adored by all faiths, worldly people and saints. She has four arms, one hand holding a book, one holding a rosary and two hands holding a musical instrument Veenä. Her seat is a lotus and the peacock is her vehicle representing equanimity in prosperity. In some books it is mentioned that the swan is her vehicle.
Lakshmi Devi Goddess Lakshmi represents wealth. The people worship her as the goddess of wealth, power, money etc. In her upper two hands, she holds a lotus with an elephant, in the lower right hand a rosary and in the lower left hand a pot.
Manibhadra Dev Shri Manibhadra is originally a Yaksha, worshipped by Indian masses since very olden times. His introduction to Jain worship is only a later adaptation. It is an image of a six-armed Yaksha with an elephant as his vehicle.
Ghantäkarna Vir This deity is worshipped for protection and for driving away evil influence created by the malicious Yakshas and Yakshinis. His arrow indicates penetration of evil forces. The bow gives forceful momentum to the arrow. His symbol is the bell that resounds to create auspicious sounds in the atmosphere. Sometimes people who are not aware of the facts call
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JAIN PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE I
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