Template:Buddhist term A Template:IAST (Sanskrit) or Template:IAST (Pāli) is one of a group of dwarfish, misshapen spirits among the lesser deities of Buddhist mythology.
Template:IAST 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 Template:IAST can also be interpreted as "pot-egg"; since "egg" (Template:IAST) was a common euphemism for "testicle", the Template:IAST were imagined having testicles "as big as pots".
The terms Template:IAST and [[yaksha|Template:IAST]] are sometimes used for the same person; Template:IAST in these cases is the more general term, including a variety of lower deities.
The Template:IAST are classed among the Cāturmahārājika deities, and are subject to the Great King Template:IAST, Guardian of the South. One of their chiefs is called Kumbhīra.
They are strong, fast, and have magical powers of change.
According to the Da zhidu lun, greedy officers are reborn as kumbhāṇḍhas.