NĀGAS AND YAKṢAS and their female counterparts, nāgīs and yakṣīs, are pre-Aryan fertility deities of the Indian subcontinent whose fundamental relationship with agricultural pursuits has led to their incorporation into the Hindu and Buddhist pantheons as low-level devas (gods), or as a separate category of deities between devas and demons and ghosts. In addition, nāgas and yakṣas, often likened to the guardian nats of Thailand and phi of Burma, are intimately related with kingship symbolism and play a significant role in the myths and rituals of the Buddhists of South and Southeast Asia.

Early Hindu and Buddhist texts state that nāgas and yakṣas reside in caityas, ancient places of worship marked by a tree, stone altar, pool, or stream, and a...