The is a divine creature with human torso and birdlike head in

Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of year ...

. The name is a

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...

, a race of enormously gigantic birds in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. the Japanese Buddhist version is based upon Hindu Mythology. The same creature may go by the name of . The karura is said to be enormous,. Japanese dictionary, 2nd revised edition fire-breathing, and to feed on dragons/serpents, just as Garuda is the bane of

Nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

s. Only a dragon who possesses a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

talisman, or one who has converted to the Buddhist teaching, can escape unharmed from the Karura. Shumisen or

Mount Meru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...

is said to be its habitat. Karura is one of the proselytized and converted creatures recruited to form a guardian unit called the .The multilexic dictionary does not give an English or any other language equivalent for this entry. One famous example is the Karura statue at

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

, amongst the eight deva statues presented at the

Buddhābhiṣeka Buddhābhiseka ( pi, buddhābhiseka; sa, buddhābhiṣeka) refers to a broad range of Buddhist rituals used to consecrate images of the Buddha and other Buddhist figures, such as bodhisattvas. Terms Buddhābhiseka is known a number of different ...

dated to the year

Tenpyō was a after '' Jinki'' and before ''Tenpyō-kanpō.'' This period spanned the years from August 729 through April 749. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 729 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The p ...

6 or 734, pictured top right). This karura is depicted as wearing Tang Chinese-style armor, and thus is seen wingless. But more conventionally, the Karura is depicted as a winged being with human torso and avian head, as in the Vajra Hall () section of the

Womb Realm In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Womb Realm ( sa, garbhakoṣadhātu, Traditional Chinese: 胎蔵界; Pinyin: ''Tāizāngjiè''; Romanji: ''taizōkai'') is the metaphysical space inhabited by the Five Compassion Buddhas. The Womb Realm is based on the ...

mandala () and other

iconographic Iconology is a method of interpretation in cultural history and the history of the visual arts used by Aby Warburg, Erwin Panofsky and their followers that uncovers the cultural, social, and historical background of themes and subjects in the visu ...

books and scrolls.

In fine art

The karura (garuda) mask is one of the stock character masks worn by performers of the ancient Japanese courtly dance art of

gigaku , also known as , p.357-8, on ''gigaku men" (mask) refers to an extinct genre of masked drama-dance performance, imported into Japan during the Asuka period. History Records state that was introduced during the 20th year of reign of Empress Suik ...

. The flaming nimbus or halo is known by the name "karura flame" and typically seen adorning behind the statue of the ). The karura is also said to be the prototype of the depictions of the ''

tengu are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion (Shinto). They are considered a type of ''yōkai'' (supernatural beings) or Shinto ''kami'' (gods). The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and a ...

'' or ''

karasutengu are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion (Shinto). They are considered a type of ''yōkai'' (supernatural beings) or Shinto ''kami'' (gods). The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and a ...

''.

In popular culture

The ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' evolutionary line of Magby, Magmar, and Magmortar are based on the karura.

References

External links

* Buddhist gods Birds in Buddhism Japanese legendary creatures Mythological birds of prey Avian humanoids {{Japan-myth-stub

In fine art

In popular culture

See also

References

External links