Of all the vampires in the world, perhaps DRACULA is the most dreaded, hated and the numero uno in global notoriety. But there are many other fiendish species enjoying geographically limited infamy in many parts of the world. An unquenchable thirst for hot blood is the common trait shared by most of them. However there are a few non-blood feeders like the piscivorous UPIR of Ukraine. Interestingly, females have a numerical advantage among vampires. The Arabian ALGUL, ASWANG and DANAG of Philippines, the Russian ERETICA, the Scottish BAOBHAN-SITH, Portuguese BRUXSA, Irish LEANHAUM-SHEE and DEARG-DUE, the Malaysian LANGSUIR and the Libyan LAMIA are all female vampires! (Incidentally, only the female members of the insect vampires, MOSQUITOES, stab us for a blood meal!)

Very little known beyond the border of Kerala, YAKSHI also belongs to the fair sex category. Similar to most of the vampires, they are also nocturnal and appear as immensely beautiful damsels, usually clad in white attire. (The Scottish BAOBHAN-SITH and Malaysian LANGSUIR appear in green apparels). Like the Portuguese BRUXSA, YAKSHI also targets lonely and lost travelers at night. Palm trees are said to be her abode. There are several folklores on YAKSHI. The modus operandi employed by them to lure the victims is by and large the same. During nighttime the YAKSHI assumes the form of a beautiful woman and waits for her victim. When a potential prey is spotted, she approaches him and asks for little ‘lime’ that is used for chewing along with betel leaf. If the victim relents he would be enchanted by the charm of the YAKSHI and follow her for carnal enjoyment. The charm would disappear soon and what appeared as a palace would transform back into the unassuming crown of a palm tree and the beautiful woman the dreaded YAKSHI. The next day what the travelers would see are the hair and nails at the bottom of the Palm tree. It is also said that whenever a YAKSHI appears there would be fragrance of jasmine or Pala (Alstonia scholaris). Iron is a potent repellent for YAKSHI. Legends have it that many scholars escaped the clutches of this vampire by offering lime on the tip of their Ezhuthani (iron pen used to write on palm leaves in ancient times). Women dying unnatural death are believed to transform into YAKSHI. There were great Mantravadis (exorcists) who could end the menace of many a notorious YAKSHI by nailing them on Kanjiram (Strychnos nuxvomica) tree. If by accident the nail were removed the YAKSHI would attain freedom and let loose her hunting prowess.  

                      There are hundreds of folklores with YAKSHIs as central characters in Kerala. Here is a typical sample:   It happened many centuries ago. In central Kerala there was a famous Brahmin family well known for their expertise in Vedas. They were known as ‘Kaladi Bhattathiris’. One day the young Bhattathiri wanted to go for the famous Thrissur pooram festival (which is a major tourist attraction even today). In those days there were no vehicles. So he started on foot along with his friend Namboodiri (Namboodiris and Bhattathiris are sub castes of Brahmins). It was a long way to their destination. They had to walk even after sunset. When they were walking through a village, totally absorbed in friendly chitchats, two extremely beautiful women appeared before them. The friends stood spell bound by their exceptional beauty. One of them asked, ‘where are you going at this time of the day?’ They said they were going to the ‘pooram’. ‘See, nobody travels in this part of the country after sunset because this place is haunted by Yakshis. You should not travel tonight. Better you stay somewhere nearby and resume your journey only tomorrow morning’. Hearing this, the young Brahmins became scared. They said they did not know anybody in that area and requested them to suggest a suitable family for overnight stay. The ladies invited them to their own house to which the youngsters readily agreed. It was a big and gorgeous mansion. After a sumptuous supper they had occupied the chambers of the women along with them. When the woman with Bhattathiri touched him, he became instantly unconscious. Suddenly she revealed her true form of a YAKSHI.   Bhattathiri’s friend Namboodiri was a great scholar and the disciple of Goddess Durga. He had a divine book praising the goddess with him (Yakshis are repelled by such divine books). His companion coquettishly asked him, ‘why are you keeping that book under your head? Why don’t you keep it somewhere else?’ ‘No, no, that should not be done. I always sleep with the book under my head’. When she compelled him again and again to remove the book he smelt trouble in the air. Moreover he heard sounds of chewing bones and sucking blood from the next room! He called his friend with all the might left in him but there was no reply. Namboodiri realized with a shudder that they were in the grip of two fiendish Yakshis. He held the divine book close to his chest and chanted hymns praising the Goddess. The Yakshi tried all her tricks to make the man keep the book down but failed miserably. Finally she left the room, fuming with anger. Next morning Namboodiri found himself sitting on the crown of a palm tree. There was neither a mansion nor any trace of the beautiful women.   With the help of the villagers he climbed down the tree. Predictably, what remained of his friend were only his hair and nails. After this horrendous episode, the male members of Bhattathiri’s family started to learn and practice exorcism and became very famous in that field.

                      Most of the Yakshi stories are of this genre but there are a few exceptions with Yakshis playing protagonists. Here is a sample: There was a famous Ayurvedic scholar called Vayaskarah   Bhattathiri. He was also a scholar in all four Vedas and an expert in exorcism. Once Zamorin, the king of Calicut, was possessed by a Yakshi. Nobody could exorcise her from him. Finally Bhattathiri was summoned. With his exorcising prowess he could separate the Yakshi from the king’s body. On the way back home it was getting late. So he decided to stay at a Brahmin’s house. He slept with the divine book under the pillow. While sleeping he felt somebody standing near his bed and whispering in his ear, ‘remove the book’. When Bhattathiri opened his eyes, a beautiful woman was standing near him. He realized that it was not an ordinary woman. ‘Please remove the book’, she repeated.

‘Who are you? Why did you come here? Why should I remove the book?’ asked Bhattathiri in the same breath.

‘If you swear that you will not harm me I will tell the truth’. When Bhattathiri nodded, she continued: ‘I am the Yakshi whom you had exorcised from the Zamorin. I have followed you because I have fallen in love with you. Please accept me. If you don’t remove the book I won’t be able to touch you.’

‘I will remove the book provided you too swear that you will not harm me.’   The Yakshi agreed and Bhattathiri removed the book from under his head. That was the beginning of a second honeymoon for the already married Bhattathiri. Wherever Bhattathiri went the Yakshi, who was visible only to him, accompanied him. Eventually she became pregnant and delivered a beautiful girl who was also a Yakshi. After delivery the Yakshi could no longer stay with him. Leaving their daughter with the father she disappeared.   Bhattathiri became old and ill. One day he called his daughter, who was visible only to him, and said, ‘I will leave this world very shortly. After my death you should not leave this house. You will be worshipped as the family deity by everybody in this house generation after generation’. Then he called his son from his first marriage and confessed everything about the Yakshi. He told him to worship the Yakshi as the family deity to which the son agreed. It is believed that the Yakshi lives in that house even today.            

         Other than these folklores, Yakshis have been playing stimulants to many modern short stories , plays, poems and novels in Malayalam. Some of them have even been adapted for silver screen. Yakshi continues to live in the minds of Keralites. She is not always hated as a monstrous blood- sucker but also adored as an immensely beautiful darling in the private dreams of teenagers. The intoxicating fragrance of the Pala flowers still stimulates amorous dreams of many a youngster in the state with a beautiful YAKSHI lurking in the background!