Maheśvara (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: महेश्वर;
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
: ''Mahissara'';
traditional Chinese
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
/
Japanese: 大自在天;
Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: ''Dàzìzàitiān'',
Romanji: ''Daijizaiten'') is the ruler of all
three realms
Trailokya ( sa, त्रैलोक्य; Kannada: ತ್ರೈಲೋಕ್ಯ; pi, tiloka, Tibetan: khams gsum; Chinese: 三界) literally means "three worlds"Fischer-Schreiber ''et al.'' (1991), p. 230, entry for "Triloka." Here, synonyms f ...
of
samsara in Buddhist Mythology. He is also sometimes referred to as Sabbalokādhipatī
Devā in
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
literature. His main duty is to give spiritual knowledge. The Buddhist Maheshvara was also like all Bodhisattava, copied in brahmin deity called shiva.
Etymology
![Nepal, uma-mahesvara, xiv secolo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Nepal%2C_uma-mahesvara%2C_xiv_secolo.jpg)
The Sanskrit name Maheśvara is composed of two "Mahā" and "Īśvara". The "ā" of mahā and the "ī" of īśvara combine to form a sandhi, which becomes "e", forming the word "Maheśvara". Mahā means "Great" and Īśvara means "lord", hence the name Maheśvara means "the great lord".
Contemporary Maheśvara
![60523bb7ly1goo37whi2rj20u0140125](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/60523bb7ly1goo37whi2rj20u0140125.jpg)
Present Maheśvara is Buddhist by religion, and was reborn as a
Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
, because of his merit of donating a cup of honey to
Kassapa Buddha in one of his previous lives. According to
Karandavyuha Sutra, Maheśvara was born from the brow of
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
. According to
Buddhist traditions, he helps good people, mostly who follow the
Buddhist precepts
Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha. The term for ethics or morality used in Buddhism is ''Śīla'' or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' in Buddhism is one of three sections of ...
and eat a vegetarian diet, and also punishes bad people for their evil deeds. He helps yogis doing
Kundalini Meditation.
He is bodhisattva of Tenth Bhumi. He is one of the important deity venerated in
Sri Lankan Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism is the largest and official religion of Sri Lanka, practiced by 70.2% of the population as of 2012.
Practitioners of Sri Lankan Buddhism can be found amongst the majority Sinhalese people, Sinhalese population as well as am ...
. He is one of the
twenty four protective deities of
Chinese Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...
and of the
sixteen dharmapalas of
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
.
Maheśvara and Vajrapāni
![大自在天](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/%E5%A4%A7%E8%87%AA%E5%9C%A8%E5%A4%A9.jpg)
A popular story tells how Vajrapāni kills one Maheśvara, because of his evil deeds. The story occurs in several scriptures, most notably the ''Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṅgraha'' and the ''Vajrāpanyābhiṣeka Mahātantra''. The story begins with the transformation of the bodhisattva
Samantabhadra Samantabhadra (Lit. "All Good", or "Always Auspicious") may refer to:
* Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva), a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation
* ''Samantabhadra'' (Tibetan: ''Kuntu Zangpo''), the name of a Buddha, ...
into
Vajrapāni by
Vairocana, the cosmic Buddha, receiving a
vajra and the name "Vajrāpani".
Vairocana then requests Vajrapāni to generate his adamantine family in order to establish a
mandala
A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...
. Vajrapāni refuses because Maheśvara "is deluding beings with his deceitful religious doctrines and engaging in all kinds of violent criminal conduct". Maheśvara and his entourage are dragged to
Mount Meru, and all but Maheśvara submit. Vajrapāni and Maheśvara engage in a magical combat, which is won by Vajrapāni. Maheśvara's retinue become part of Vairocana's mandala, except for Maheśvara, who is killed, and his life transferred to another realm where he becomes a
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
named ''Bhasmeśvaranirghoṣa'', the "Soundless Lord of Ashes".
Mantra
* Chinese:
:
: '
: '
* Japanese:
:
: '
: '
Both the Chinese and Japanese mantras are phonetic transcriptions of verses originally composed in Sanskrit.
See also
*
Śakra - Ruler of Tavatimsa heaven
*
Mahabrahma
Mahābrahmā (Tibetan: ''tshangs pa chen po''; Chinese/Japanese: 大梵天 ''Daibonten''; Sinhala: මහා බ්රහ්ම; Thai: มหาพรหฺมฺา), sometimes only called Brahma, is the ruler of the Brahma World (Brahmalok ...
- Ruler of Brahma world
*
God in Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion that does not include the belief in a creator deity, or any eternal divine personal being.Harvey, Peter (2019). ''"Buddhism and Monotheism",'' p. 1. Cambridge University Press.
Buddhist teachings state that there are div ...
References
{{Buddhism topics
Buddhist mythology
Buddhist gods
Twenty-Four Protective Deities