Yali – Divine Protector And Guardian Of Temples Warding Off Evil Forces In Hindu Mythology

A. Sutherland  – AncientPages.com – A prominent figure of Hindu mythology and a personification of natural forces that can be seen in many South Indian medieval temples is a powerful and strong Yali.

At Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu state, there are as many as one thousand pillars richly covered with carvings of Yali.

The Yali – a powerful symbol of protection – can be found in the Tiger Cave, one of the Mahabalipuram rock-cut temples constructed during the reign of King Narasimhavarman I, a great warrior and a devotee of Shiva.

The king is still remembered not for the conquests but for his contributions to the art and architecture of Tamil Nadu.

Descriptions of Yali are very old, and so are references to this mythical creature, often sculpted onto the pillars in temples.

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