Kumbhanda

A IAST|Kumbhāṇḍa (Sanskrit) or IAST|Kumbhaṇḍa (Pāli) is one of a group of dwarfish, misshapen spirits among the lesser deities of Buddhist mythology.

IAST|Kumbhāṇḍa was a dialectal form for "gourd", so they may get their name from being thought to resemble gourds in some way, e.g. in having big stomachs. But IAST|kumbhāṇḍa can also be interpreted as "pot-egg"; since "egg" (IAST|aṇḍa) was a common euphemism for "testicle", the IAST|kumbhāṇḍas were imagined having testicles "as big as pots".

The terms IAST|kumbhāṇḍa and IAST|yakṣa are sometimes used for the same person; IAST|yakṣa in these cases is the more general term, including a variety of lower deities.

The IAST|kumbhāṇḍas are classed among the Cāturmahārājikakāyika deities, and are subject to the Great King IAST|Virūḷhaka, Guardian of the South. One of their chiefs is called Kumbhīra.