Manibhadra

Yaksha Manibhadra, from Parkham, c. 3rd-2nd century BCE, Government Museum, Mathura

Manibhadra is one of the major yakshas. He was a popular deity in ancient India.

Iconography

A yaksha image from Mathura

Several well known images of yaksha Manibhadra have been found.^[1] The two oldest known image are:

• Yaksha Manibhadra coming from Parkham near Mathura, datable to period 200 BCE – 50 BC^[2]
• Yaksha Manibhadra from Padmavati Pawaya. The inscription under the image mentions a group of Manibhadra worshippers.

Both of them are monumental larger than life sculptures, often dated to Maurya or Shunga period. The Parkham Yaksha was used an inspiration by Ram Kinker Baij to carve the Yaksha image that now stands in front of the Reserve Bank of India in Delhi.^[3]

Manibhadra was often shown with a bag of money in his hand.

Hinduism

Manibhadra is an avatar of Shiva which he called when he was angry and summoned for warfare. Manibhadra decimated the army of Jalandhara along with Virabhadra, another avatar of Shiva.^[4] In the Mahabharata Manibhadra is mentioned along with Kubera as a chief of the yakshas. Arjuna had worshipped him.^[5] In the Ramayana, Manibhadra is mentioned as fighting Ravana when he had attacked the domain of Vaishravana at Mount Kailash.^[6] It is possible that the avatar of Shiva and the chief of the yakshas may be the same Manibhadra but there is no confirmation.

Buddhism

In Samyukta Nikaya, Manibhadra is said to reside in the Manimala chaitya in Magadha. Yaksha Manibhadra is invoked in The Exalted Manibhadra’s Dhārani.^[7]

Jainism

Manibhadra Temple, Magarwada

In Sūryaprajñapti, a Manibhadra chairya in Mithila is mentioned. Yakshas are referred to in the Harivamsapurana (783 A.D.) of Jinasena made the beginning of this concept.^[8] Among them, Manibhadra and Purnabadra yakshas and Bahuputrika yakshini have been the most popular. Manibhadra and Purnabadra yakshas are mentioned a chief of yakshas, Manibhadra of Northern ones and Purnabadra of Southern ones.

Manibhadra still a yaksha worshipped by the Jains, specially those affiliated with the Tapa Gachchha. Three temples are famous for association with Mandibhadra: Ujjain, Aglod (Sabarkantha) and Magarwada (Banaskantha). Manibhadra Yaksha (or Vira) is a popular demigod among the Jains in Gujarat.^[9] His image can take many forms, including unshaped rocks, however in the most common representation, he is shown with a multi-tusked elephant Airavata.^[10]

See also

• Yaksha
• Kubera

References

1. Yaksha cult and iconography, Ram Nath Misra, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1981
2. Costumes & Ornaments As Depicted in the Early Sculpture of Gwalior Museum By Sulochana Ayyar, Mittal Publications, Dec 1, 1987, p. 29
3. Of Art, Central Banks, and Philistines, RBI History Project, http://www.rbi.org.in/History/Mis_Ane_OfArtCentralBankers.html
4. http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/hmvp/hmvp43.htm
5. Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide, Roshen Dalal, Penguin Books India, Oct 5, 2011, p. 240
6. Ramayana: King Rama's Way, William Buck, Barend A. Van Nooten, Shirley Triest, University of California Press, Nov 1, 2000, p. 32–33
7. THE DHĀRANI OF THE EXALTED MANIBHADRA, Translated from Tibetan by Erick Tsiknopoulos
8. "Symbols, Ceremonies and Practices" by Pramodaben Chitrabhanu
9. Yakshraj Shree Manibhadradev, Nandlal B Devluk, Arihant Prakashan, 1997
10. Kristi L. Wiley (17 June 2009). The A to Z of Jainism. Scarecrow Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-8108-6337-8.

Sources

• Hopkins, Edward Washburn (1915). Epic mythology. Strassburg K.J. Trübner. ISBN 0-8426-0560-6.
• Sutherland, Gail Hinich (1991). The disguises of the demon: the development of the Yakṣa in Hinduism and Buddhism. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-0622-9.