Kinnaraya

In Buddhist mythology and Hindu mythology, a kinnara are paradigmatic lovers, a celestial musician, half-human and half-bird. 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.[1]

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.

In Myanmar (Burmese: ကိန္နရီ; IPA: [kèinnəyì]), Burmese Buddhists believe that out of the 136 past animal lives of Buddha, four were Kinnara. The Kinnari is also one of the 108 symbols on the footprint of Buddha. In addition, Burmese Kinnari are depicted with covered breasts