Yakshis like Apsaras are mythical beings of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology.
Yakshis are the female counterparts of the male Yaksha, and they are attendees of Kubera, the Hindu god of wealth who rules in the mythical Himalayan kingdom of Alaka. Yakshinis are often depicted as beautiful and voluptuous, with a chauri (fly-whisk) in right hand, fleshy cheeks, with wide hips, narrow waists, broad shoulders, knotted hair and exaggerated, spherical breasts.
Although Yakshis are usually benevolent, there are also Yakshis with malevolent characteristics in Indian folklore .The ashoka tree is closely associated with Yakshis . The young girl at the foot of the tree is an ancient motif indicating fertility on the Indian Subcontinent. One of the recurring elements in Indian art, often found as gatekeepers in early Buddhist and Hindu temples, is a Yakshis with her foot on the trunk and her hands holding the branch of a stylized flowering ashoka or, less frequently, other tree with flowers or fruits.
