Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c32.25

v2.c32.25

In later literature the Yakkhas have been degraded to the state of red-eyed cannibal ogres. The female Yakkhas (*yakkhinī*) are, in these cases, more fearful and evil-minded than the male. They eat flesh and blood (D. ii. 346; v. 34); and devour even men (D. ii. 346; J. ii. 15 ff.) and corpses (J. i. 265). They eat babies (J. v. 21; vi. 336) and are full of spite and vengeance (DhA. i. 47; ii. 35 f.). The story of Bhūta Thera is interesting because his elder brothers and sisters were devoured by a hostile Yakkha, so the last child is called Bhūta to propitiate the Yakkha by making him the child's sponsor!