Cāturmahārājakāyika ( sa, चातुर्महाराजकायिक; pi, Cātummahārājika) heaven is the first world of the

devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

Buddhist cosmology Buddhist cosmology describes the planes and realms in which beings can be reborn. The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, into which beings are reborn due to their merits and development; and a hori ...

. The word ''Cāturmahārājakāyika'' refers to the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the a ...

(''Cāturmahārāja'') who rule over this world along with the ''assemblage'' or ''multitude'' (''kāyika'') of beings that dwell there. The beings themselves are generally called ''cāturmahārājakāyikās'' or ''cāturmahārājakāyika devas''.

Description

The ''Chāturmahārājakāyika'' heaven is the first of the heaven of the

Kāmadhātu The desire realm (Sanskrit: कामधातु, ''kāmadhātu'') is one of the trailokya or three realms (Sanskrit: धातु, ''dhātu'', Tibetan: ''khams'') in Buddhist cosmology into which a being wandering in '' '' may be reborn. The ...

and the lowest of the heavens that maintains a physical connection with the human world. It is located on the slopes of Mount Sumeru, though some of the devas there dwell inside the mountain and in the sky surrounding it. The most notable residents of this world are the

who serve Śakra of the higher heaven

Trāyastriṃśa The (Sanskrit; Pali ) heaven is an important world of the devas in the Buddhist cosmology. The word is an adjective formed from the numeral , "33" and can be translated in English as "belonging to the thirty-three evas. It is primarily the ...

, and govern the four cardinal directions. They are also leaders of various races of beings who reside here. Their functions are as follows: *

Dhṛtarāṣṭra Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Sanskrit; Pali: ''Dhataraṭṭha'') is a major deity in Buddhism and one of the Four Heavenly Kings. His name means "Upholder of the Nation." Names The name ''Dhṛtarāṣṭra'' is a Sanskrit compound of the words ''dhṛ ...

- Guardian of the East. Leader of the

gandharvas A gandharva () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are ...

and piśācas. * Virūḍhaka - Guardian of the South. Leader of the kumbhāṇḍas and

pretas Preta ( sa, प्रेत, bo, ཡི་དྭགས་ ''yi dags''), also known as hungry ghost, is the Sanskrit name for a type of supernatural being described in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion as undergoing sufferin ...

. *

Virūpākṣa Virūpākṣa (Sanskrit; Pali: Virūpakkha; traditional Chinese: 廣目天王; simplified Chinese: 广目天王; pinyin: ''Guǎngmù Tiānwáng''; Japanese: 広目天 ''Kōmokuten'') is a major deity in Buddhism. He is one of the Four Heavenly K ...

- Guardian of the West. Leader of the nāgas and pūtanas. *

Vaiśravaṇa (Sanskrit: वैश्रवण) or (Pali; , , ja, 毘沙門天, Bishamonten, ko, 비사문천, Bisamuncheon, vi, Đa Văn Thiên Vương), is one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and is considered an important figure in Buddhism. Names The n ...

- Guardian of the North. Leader of the yakṣas and rākṣasas. Many of these beings have been likened to spirits and gods of

Pagan religions Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. In ...

as well as goblins, trolls, and fairies of Western folklore. Other residents include the garuḍas, the ''Khiddāpadosikā'', ''Manopadosikā'', ''Sitavalāhakā'' and ''Unhavalāhakā'' devas.

Parjanya Parjanya ( sa, पर्जन्य ) according to the Vedas is a deity of rain, thunder, lightning, and the one who fertilizes the earth. It is another epithet of Indra, the Vedic deity of the sky and heaven. Description It is assumed Parjanya is ...

and Maṇimekhalā, as well as the sun god

Sūrya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

and the moon god

Candra The Chandra kingdom was a Buddhist kingdom, originating from the Indian subcontinent, which ruled the Samatata region of Bengal, as well as northern Arakan. Later it was a neighbor to the Pala Empire to the north. Rulers of Chandra kingdom were ...

also dwell here.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trayastrimsa Buddhist cosmology Heaven Buddhist deities