The Yakshas (Sanskrit: यक्ष, IAST: Yakṣa; Pali: Yakkha) are a broad class of nature spirits in Hindu mythology, traditionally associated with water, trees, forests, wilderness, treasure, and fertility. They are generally regarded as benevolent, though they are sometimes depicted as mischievous or capricious. The feminine form of the term is Yakṣī or Yakshini (Sanskrit: यक्षिणी, IAST: Yakṣiṇī; Pali: Yakkhini).
Yakshas appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, as well as in ancient and medieval temples across South Asia and Southeast Asia, where they are often featured as guardian deities. In these traditions, the yakṣas are described as having a dual personality. A yakṣa may be portrayed as an inoffensive nature spirit linked with woods and mountains, or, in a darker aspect, as a kind of bhoota (ghost) that haunts the wilderness and is said to waylay and devour travellers, in a manner comparable to the rakṣasas.
A distinctive cultural form connected with the Yakshas is Yakshagana, a traditional stage performance practised in parts of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is found in the districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kasaragod and Uttara Kannada, as well as in Shimoga and the western parts of Chikmagalur district.