Buddhism
|
Basic terms
|
|
People
|
|
Schools
|
|
Practices
|
|
|
Vai?rava?a
or
Vessava?a
is the name of the chief of the
Four Heavenly Kings
and an important person in
Buddhism
.
The name Vai?rava?a comes from the Sanskrit
vi?rava?a
which means "Great Fame".
[1]
Vai?rava?a is also known as
Kubera
in Sanskrit or Kuvera in P?li.
[2]
[3]
The character of Vai?rava?a is like the
Hindu
god
Kubera
, but although the Buddhist and Hindu deities share some characteristics they have different functions and
myths
.
He is often shown with a yellow face. He carries an
umbrella
as a sign of his power. He is also sometimes shown with a
mongoose
, often shown spitting out
jewels
. The mongoose is the enemy of the snake, which is a symbol of greed or hatred; the spitting out of jewels shows generosity.
Vai?rava?a in Therav?da tradition
[
change
|
change source
]
In the
P?li
writings of the
Therav?da
Buddhist tradition, Vai?rava?a is called
Vessava?a.
Vessava?a is one of the
Four Heavenly Kings
, each one of which rules over a direction. Vessava?a's direction is the northern quarter of the world.
Vessava?a has the name "Kuvera" from a name he had from a past life as a rich
mill
-owner, who gave all the money he got from one of his seven mills to charity, and gave aid to the poor for 20,000 years.
As with all the Buddhist deities, Vessava?a is properly the name of a person who has the god inside him rather than a permanent individual. Each Vessava?a is a human, and when he dies, he will be replaced by a new Vessava?a. Like other beings of the
C?tummah?r?jika
world, his lifespan is 90,000 years, but other sources say nine million years.
When the
Buddha
was born, Vessava?a became his follower. He often brought the Buddha and his followers messages from the gods and other humans, and protected them.
In
Japan
,
Bishamonten
or just
Bishamon
is thought of as a god of
war
or warriors who wears armor, and a punisher of people who do evil things. This is very strange when compared with the peaceful Buddhist king described above. Bishamon is shown holding a spear in one hand and a small
pagoda
in the other hand. The Pagoda symbolises the divine treasure house, which holds things that he guards and gives away. In Japanese folklore, he is one of the
Japanese
Seven Lucky Gods
.
In
Tibet,
Vai?rava?a is known to be a worldly protector of the
Dharma
. He is also known as the King of the North. As guardian of the north, he is often shown on temple wall paintings outside the main door. He is also a god of wealth. Vai?rava?a is sometimes shown carrying a
citron
, the fruit of the
jambhara
tree. The fruit helps pick him out from depictions of
Kuvera
.
- A character called "Uesugi Kenshin" in the
Playstation 2
game
Samurai Warriors
prays to Bishamon a lot for strength. He also gains the title "Bishamonten Avatar" at one point.
- In the
video game
series
Onimusha: Warlords
a Bishamon statue is seen. The Bishamon Sword is also the best weapon in the game.
- In
Atlus
'
video game
series
Megami Tensei
, Bishamon is put into the
Kishin
clan which includes the protectors of various things.
- In the PC game
Touhou: Unidentified Fantastic Object
, in the fifth stage, the heroine fights Shou, a tiger Youkai who earned the title "Disciple of Vai?rava?a" because she is the Avatar of Bishamonten. Shou's theme is called "The Tiger Patterned Vaisravana" since she is the Avatar of Bishamonten, as stated above.
- ↑
MW Sanskrit Digital Dictionary v1.5
- ↑
The Heart of the Warrior: origins and religious background of the samurai system in feudal Japan By Catharina Blomberg. Page 31. Published 1994. Routledge (UK). Philosophy.
ISBN
1-873410-13-1
- ↑
Ruthless Compassion: wrathful deities in early Indo-Tibetan esoteric Buddhist art By Rob Linrothe (page 20). Published 1999. Serindia Publications, Inc. Art & Art Instruction. 354 pages.
ISBN
0-906026-51-2