In Buddhist mythology and Hindu mythology, a kinnara is a paradigmatic lover, a celestial musician, half-human and half-horse (India). In South-east Asia, two of the most beloved mythological characters are the benevolent half-human, half-bird creatures known as the Kinnara and Kinnari, which are believed to come from the Himalayas and often watch over the well-being of humans in times of trouble or danger. Their character is clarified in the Adi parva of the Mahabharata, where they say: We are everlasting lover and beloved. We never separate. We are eternally husband and wife; never do we become mother and father. No offspring is seen in our lap. We are lover and beloved ever-embracing. In between us we do not permit any third creature demanding affection. Our life is a life of perpetual pleasure. They are also featured in a number of Buddhist texts, including the Lotus Sutra.An ancient Indian string instrument is known as the Kinnari Veena. In Southeast Asian mythology, Kinnaris, the female counterpart of Kinnaras, are depicted as half-bird, half-woman creatures. One of the many creatures that inhabit the mythical Himavanta. Kinnaris have the head, torso, and arms of a woman and the wings, tail and feet of a swan. She is renowned for her dance, song and poetry, and is a traditional symbol of feminine beauty, grace and accomplishment. Edward H. Schafer notes that in East Asian religious art the Kinnara is often confused with the Kalaviṅka, which is also a half-human half-bird hybrid mythical creature, but that the two are actually distinct and unrelated.

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