Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c75.s2.51

v2.c75.s2.51

‘According to the Jain belief, Indra appoints one Yakṣa and one Yakṣiṇī to serve, as attendants, each Tīrthankara. The Yakṣa would be on his right side and Yakṣiṇī on his left. Thus they also came to be called Śāsanadevatās or attendant spirits. According to Hemacandra, a Yakṣa originates from the particular religious spirit of a Jina ‘तत्तीर्थजन्मा’ ‘तत्तीर्थभू:’. Hence we can take in all probability, that the Yakṣa was the leader of the desciples and Yakṣiṇī was the first female convert’. Again ‘as Yakṣas and Yakṣiṇīs were leader-disciples of the Jinas, they had been chosen from the rich merchantile class and some of them had represented as bankers. In actual images, we find them decorated in red jewels and characterised with the symbol of money-bags etc.’