A female South Asian nature spirit or fertility deity, frequently represented in sculpture in association with trees, fecundity, abundance, and auspicious entrance imagery.
A yakshi is a female nature spirit or deity in South Asian religious traditions. Yakshis are among the most important female types in early Indian sculpture and are often associated with fertility, vegetation, abundance, and auspicious presence. A common type shows the yakshi grasping or touching a flowering tree.
Etymology
From Sanskrit yakshi or yakshini, the feminine counterpart of yaksha.
Sculptor Notes
Yakshi sculpture often makes body and vegetation participate in one continuous rhythm. Branch, arm, hip, and supporting architecture can form a single structural design.
References
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38379; https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/37640