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26-509: The Kings are collectively named as follows: ᜐᜎᜅᜒᜆ᜔ Дөрвөн махранз Орчлоныг хамгаалах дөрвөн махранз (Orčilang-i qamaɣalaqu dörben maqaranza) Individually, they have different names and features. (Тийн сонсогч) Tiin sonsogch/tein sonosuɣči (Үлэмж биет) Ülemzh biyet/Ülemji beyetü (Орон орчиниг сахигч) Oron orchinig saxigch/Oron orčin-i sakiɣči (Эгнэгт үзэгч) Egnegt üzegch/Egenegte üjegči Namsrai Pagzhiibuu Yolxorsüren Zhamiisan All four Kings serve Śakra ,

52-400: A flying chariot. While deva may be translated as god , the devas of Buddhism differ from the gods and angels of many other religious traditions: The realm of deva can be seen as a state of consciousness that developed a purer and more spiritual understanding of the world in contrast to hunger ghosts that symbolise the human instinct. While it might be tempting to aspire a rebirth within

78-444: A large number of "heavens" or deva-worlds that rise, layer on layer, above the earth. These can be divided into five main groups: Each of these groups of deva-worlds contains different grades of devas, but all of those within a single group are able to interact and communicate with each other. On the other hand, the lower groups have no direct knowledge of even the existence of the higher types of deva at all. For this reason, some of

104-481: A snake; the gandharvas are celestial musicians, led by Dhṛtarāṣṭra , represented with a lute. The umbrella was a symbol of regal sovereignty in ancient India, and the sword is a symbol of martial prowess. Vaiśravaṇa 's mongoose, which ejects jewels from its mouth, is said to represent generosity in opposition to greed. (north) (west) (east) (south) Tr%C4%81yastri%E1%B9%83%C5%9Ba The Trāyastriṃśa ( Sanskrit ; Pali Tāvatiṃsa ) heaven

130-498: Is a name for painful emotions. Devas are invisible to the human eye. The presence of a deva can be detected by those humans who have opened the "Divine eye" ( divyacakṣus ), (Pāli: dibbacakkhu), (Chinese: 天眼), an extrasensory power by which one can see beings from other planes. Their voices can also be heard by those who have cultivated divyaśrotra, a power similar to that of the ear. Most devas are also capable of constructing illusory forms by which they can manifest themselves to

156-518: Is an important world of the devas in the Buddhist cosmology . The word trāyastriṃśa is an adjective formed from the numeral trayastriṃśat , "33" and can be translated in English as "belonging to the thirty-three [devas]". It is primarily the name of the second in the six heavens of the desire realm in Buddhist cosmology , and secondarily used of the devas who dwell there. Trāyastriṃśa

182-496: Is physically connected to the world through Sumeru, unlike the heavens above it, the Trāyastriṃśa devas are unable to avoid being entangled in worldly affairs. In particular, they frequently find themselves in quarrels with the asuras , a separate set of divine beings who were expelled from Trāyastriṃśa and who now dwell at the foot of Sumeru, plotting for ways to recover their lost kingdom. There is, however, marriage between

208-539: Is ruled by Śakra , also known as Indra . The Trāyastriṃśa heaven is the second of the heavens of the Kāmadhātu , just above Catumaharajika or the realm of the Four Heavenly Kings , and is the highest of the heavens that maintains a physical connection with the rest of the world. Trāyastriṃśa is located on the peak of Sumeru , the central mountain of the world, at a height of 80 yojanas  ;

234-551: Is the realm that Māra has greatest influence over. The higher devas of the Kāmadhātu live in four heavens that float in the air, leaving them free from contact with the strife of the lower world. They are: The lower devas of the Kāmadhātu live on different parts of the mountain at the center of the world, Sumeru . They are even more passionate than the higher devas, and do not simply enjoy themselves but also engage in strife and fighting. They are: " Furthermore, you should recollect

260-464: Is translated as 天 (literally "heaven") or 天人 (literally "heavenly person") (see the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese versions of this article for more). The feminine equivalent of deva , devi , is sometimes translated as 天女 (literally "heavenly female"), in names such as 吉祥天女 or 辯才天女 , although 天 alone can be used instead. Deva refers to a class of beings or a path of the six paths of

286-781: The Asuras , which once threatened to destroy the realm of the devas. They also vowed to protect the Buddha, the Dharma , and the Buddha's followers from danger. In Chinese Buddhism, all four of the heavenly kings are regarded as four of the Twenty Devas (二十諸天 Èrshí Zhūtiān) or the Twenty-Four Devas (二十四諸天 Èrshísì zhūtiān), a group of Buddhist dharmapalas who manifest to protect the Dharma. According to Vasubandhu , devas born in

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312-515: The devas who are said to dwell here: Śakra's wives Śakra's sons Śakra's daughters Others [REDACTED] Media related to Trāyastriṃśa heaven at Wikimedia Commons Deva (Buddhism) A Deva ( Sanskrit and Pali : देव ; Mongolian : тэнгэр , tenger) in Buddhism is a type of celestial being or god who shares the god-like characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, much happier than humans, although

338-550: The Brahmās have become proud, imagining themselves as the creators of their own worlds and of all the worlds below them (because they came into existence before those worlds began to exist). The devas of the Kāmadhātu have physical forms similar to, but larger than, those of humans. They lead the same sort of lives that humans do, though they are longer-lived and generally more content; indeed sometimes they are immersed in pleasures. This

364-916: The Buddha ascends to Trāyastriṃśa , or (more often) deities from Trāyastriṃśa descend to meet the Buddha. The Buddha's mother, Maya , was reborn in the Tusita Heaven, and came down to visit Trāyastriṃśa heaven where her son taught her the abhidharma . The "thirty-three" in the name of the heaven is not an enumeration of the gods who live there (there are far more) but a general term inherited from Vedic mythology , implying "the whole pantheon of gods". In Theravada Buddhist legends, there were 33 humans in Sakka's original group (who made enough merit to become devas atop Mount Sineru). In Buddhism, there are " Yāmā devāḥ", " Tushitānāṃ ", "Nirmāṇaratayaḥ devāḥ", and "Paranirmita-vaśavartinaḥ devāḥ" above Trāyastriṃśa and "Catumaharajika" below. They are called

390-537: The Cāturmahārājika heaven are 1/4 of a krośa in height (about 750 feet tall). They have a five-hundred-year lifespan, of which each day is equivalent to 50 years in our world; thus their total lifespan amounts to about nine million years (other sources say 90,000 years). The attributes borne by each King also link them to their followers; for instance, the nāgas , magical creatures who can change form between human and serpent, are led by Virūpākṣa , represented by

416-432: The beings of lower worlds; higher and lower devas sometimes do this to each other. Devas do not require the same kind of sustenance as humans do, although the lower kinds do eat and drink. The higher orders of deva shine with their own intrinsic luminosity. Devas are also capable of moving great distances speedily, and of flying through the air, although the lower devas sometimes accomplish this through magical aids such as

442-690: The devas and the asuras just as there is between the Æsir and the jötnar in Norse mythology . The chief of the Trāyastriṃśa devas is Śakra (Pāli: Sakka ), also known as Indra . Other Trāyastriṃśa devas who are frequently mentioned are Viśvakarman ( Vissakamma ), the devas' craftsman and builder; Mātali , who drives Śakra's chariot; and Sujā, Śakra's wife and daughter of the Asura chief Vemacitrin ( Vepacitti ). The Trāyastriṃśa heaven appears several times in Buddhist stories, in which either

468-600: The devas: 'There are the devas of the Four Great Kings, the devas of the Thirty-three,... " [196. Dh.] " Feeders of joy we shall be like the radiant gods (devas). " Sometimes included among the devas, and sometimes placed in a different category, are the Asuras , the opponents of the preceding two groups of devas, whose nature is to be continually engaged in war. Humans are said to have originally had many of

494-449: The incarnation cycle. It includes some very different types of beings which can be ranked hierarchically according to the merits they have accumulated over lifetimes. The lowest classes of these beings are closer in their nature to human beings than to the higher classes of deva. Devas can be degraded to humans or the beings in the three evil paths once they have consumed their merits. The devas fall into three classes depending upon which of

520-469: The lord of the devas of Trāyastriṃśa . On the 8th, 14th and 15th days of each lunar month , the Kings either send out emissaries or go themselves to inspect the state of virtue and morality in the world of men. Then they report their findings to the assembly of the Trāyastriṃśa devas. On the orders of Śakra, the Kings and their retinues stand guard to protect Trāyastriṃśa from another attack by

546-403: The powers of the devas: not requiring food, the ability to fly through the air, and shining by their own light. Over time they began to eat solid foods, their bodies became coarser and their powers disappeared. There is also a humanistic definition of 'deva' [male] and 'devi' [female] ascribed to Gautama Buddha : a god is a moral person. This is comparable to another definition, i.e. that 'hell'

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572-411: The same level of veneration is not paid to them as to Buddhas. Other words used in Buddhist texts to refer to similar supernatural beings are devatā ("deities") and devaputta ("son of god"). While the former is a synonym for deva ("celestials"), the latter refers specifically to one of these beings who is young and has newly arisen in its heavenly world. In East Asian Buddhism , the word deva

598-469: The six heavens together with Śakro devānām (Śakra). More heaven "Sunirmita devāḥ" is sometimes added to these depending on sūtras . In Mahayana literature, Trāyastriṃśa is composed of thirty-three levels. These are enumerated in the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna Sūtra . The original Sanskrit names occasionally vary between extant Sanskrit manuscripts and Chinese texts. Below is a list of

624-467: The three dhātus, or "realms" of the universe they are born in. The devas of the Ārūpyadhātu have no physical form or location, and they dwell in meditation on formless subjects. They achieve this by attaining advanced meditational levels in another life. They do not interact with the rest of the universe. The devas of the Rūpadhātu have physical forms, but are genderless and passionless. They live in

650-471: The total area of the heaven is 80 yojanas square. This heaven is therefore comparable to the Greek Mount Olympus in some respects. According to Vasubandhu , inhabitants of Trāyastriṃśa are each half a krośa tall (about 1500 feet) and live for 1000 years, of which each day is equivalent to 100 years of our world: that is, for a total of 36 million of our years. Since Trāyastriṃśa

676-468: The world of gods or celestial beings, the deva are so full of joy in this realm that are unable to understand the teaching about the permanent dukkha in samsara . Furthermore, even a deva having consumed all the good karma within the pleasurable existence in this realm, can be reborn in Naraka . It will not bring the final release from samsara and the evils of the six paths., therefore falling for

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