Bohter Yaksha Temple , Gujarat

 

Jakh Botera or Bohter Yaksha, literally seventy-two  mystical warriors, are a group of folk deities worshipped widely in  the Kutch district  of Gujarat, India. Legend has it that the Jakhs were probably Zoroastrian Persians  shipwrecked  on the Kutch coast and came ashore at a place, now known as Jakhau. They were described as tall and fair-complexioned with an advanced culture, their traditional number is seventy-two with at least one woman. Their origins are obscure.

A local belief  is  that  in the eighth century CE an evil local king Punvar oppressed a community called  Sanghars , who sought the aid of the newly arrived  foreigners , the Jakhs. Seventy-two Jakhs came to their rescue, entered the fort   killed the evil king. The Sanghars named this   out of respect for the saviours, called them Yakshas or Jakhs after the fair-skinned horse-riding demigod in Indian mythology , the Yaksha.    In their honour the Sanghars made images of the seventy-two horsemen, set them on a railed platform  with their faces towards the south and started annual fair dedicated to them.

Category:
Share:

Prints : Available as Giclee print on finest quality paper or  canvas. International shipment

Sizes available: 8 x 12″(203 x 305 mm); 12 x 16″(305 x 410mm); 18 x 24″(457 x 610 mm); 24 x 32″ (610 x 813mm)

For list of prices, details of paper or canvas and pigments used,  please get in touch via contact form