The book Iyakki Vazhipadu (Yakshi Worship) was written by scholar Vedachalam. Vedachalam was born in Meenakshi-ruled Madurai. The book was published in 1989. I, who write this after reading the book, was not even born then. The book begins by stating that Yakshi worship existed all over India, setting Vedachalam apart from earlier scholars. Isn’t it significant that a Tamil researcher is extending his gaze beyond Tirupati?
Similarly, throughout the book, the author explains that Yakshi worship came from outside the mainstream religions and was later absorbed by them. Here the religions he refers to are Buddhism, Jainism, and Vedic (Hinduism), and he considers them as part of a single thread ‘Great religions’. Such a brave statement during the time of book, also this viewpoint feels accurate to us.
The author presents all previous interpretations of the name "Yaksha"—connecting it with words like light, speed, and spirit, and defining it as something wondrous and awe-inspiring. These goddesses, known in Tamil as Sūr, Anangu, and Pāvai( சூர், அணங்கு, பாவை - Demigods/Spirits mentioned in sangam literature) . All share one quality across both North and South land, they invoke fear.
He then introduces us to the yakshis worshipped in Buddhist and Jain traditions. He compares the divine figures from religious worship with literary yakshis found in Tamil Buddhist and Jain epics like Silappathikaram and Manimekalai. For example, Sambapathi, the earth goddess, and Manimekalai, the sea deity. In Silappathikaram, Kovalan names his daughter Manimekalai in remembrance of the sea goddess who helped his ancestors. In Sri Lanka, the story of Manimekalai and Kannagi being connected to Buddhism further extends this theme.
We also learn from this book that the Jain yakshi Ambika was worshipped in many parts of Tamil Nadu. This section of the book is fascinating and could stand alone as its own volume. The story of Ponniyakki(பொன்னியக்கி - Golden Yakshi) and its comparison with The saivaite saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar raises many interesting questions, attempting to connect oral narratives and the dynamics of myth-making.
A particularly important point the author addresses is why female deities were more prominently worshipped than male yakshas in Jainism. His comparison of these local goddesses with Jain and Buddhist traditions firmly suggests that these goddesses likely existed before the religions themselves. The book contains many such nuanced details, like how the concept of Kamakottam in Jainism, inscribed in epigraphy, predates the establishment of Female deity shrines in Hinduism.
Among the many yakshis, it seems the form of the Vilatthikulam Yakshi captivated the author the most. Despite its dilapidated state, he restored and drew that image and placed it on the book’s cover. Even from research perspective, it’s impossible to separate these yakshis from their mystical aura, those who fly above seas, guard bodies of water, and strike fear. They are beings that can descend upon us in forests, hills, or solitude.
Isn’t the name ‘Poongann Iyakki’ so beautiful? Perhaps I could even adopt one such yakshi as a friend. When the book is closed, the yakshi within us awakens. With her unblinking eyes, she begins listing all the yakshis that have existed in her life.
Remember how we began with a Shiva temple? For many years, my mother who is a Teacher by profession, use to clean and draw Kolam in that temple. She did so for as long as she was alive. She would wake up at 5 in the morning just for that. Except during exam days, I never woke before 7, but that vision of her, under the yellowish glow of sodium light, carrying a bucket of water and a broom remains deeply etched in my mind.
I once asked her why she kept doing it, but she never gave me an answer. She passed away suddenly before she turned forty-five, before wrinkles lined her face. She never told me. I, sitting on the verandah still heavy with sleep, and my mother walking down the street, and Meenakshi standing in the sanctum all are wrapped in that one yellow light. And once again, that strange scent arises. Unknown fragrance, the fragrance of the yakshis.
 |
| Maheswari |
