kimnara
Buddhist term for celestial beings who serve as musicians and protectors of the dharma. Often depicted with human bodies and animal heads, or as half-human, half-bird. The word is a transliteration of Sanskrit kiṃnara.
Kimnara are considered musical deities who protect Buddhism.
A kimnara is depicted in the ceiling painting of this temple.
天部 is the general category of celestial beings in Buddhism, which includes 緊那羅 as one of the eight kinds of divine protectors (八部衆).
Standard kanji spelling for this Buddhist term.
Transliteration of Sanskrit kiṃnara, a class of celestial musicians and guardians in Buddhist and Hindu mythology. The kanji 緊那羅 are used phonetically (ateji) to represent the sound.