Sāgara is a prominent nāgarāja or dragon king in

Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

. His name comes from the Sanskrit word meaning “ocean.”

Character

Sāgara is listed among the '' Eight Nāga Kings'' and is one of sixteen that are spared from the assault of the garudas. His frequent inclusion of Sāgara among the several groups of protective deities in Buddhism is a direct reference to the nāgas and his role as one of their primary leaders. He is listed among the 28 guardians of the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra reveals that he is the nāga that presides over the world's supply of rain. In East Asian art, he is often depicted with a reddish white complexion and assumes a posture of great authority. In his left hand he holds a snake or dragon and in his right hand he wields a sword. He wears a crown that consists of five snakes.

Undersea Palace

Sāgara's palace lays at the bottom of the ocean and is the setting of several Mahayana sutras. It is 84,000 yojanas in length and width with an array of decorations that are seven-fold, including walls, banisters, jeweled nets and seven rows of trees. The palace is adorned with the

seven treasures 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist * ...

and is filled with the song of innumerable birds.

Literature

King Sāgara appears extensively throughout the Buddhist canon. His name often appears in enumerations of dragon kings that appear among

Śākyamuni Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a 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 born in Lu ...

's audience. On other occasions, he is a central figure who participates in conversation with the Buddha and bodhisattvas and elucidates matters in the realm of the nāgas.

Lotus Sutra

Chapter 12 of the Lotus Sutra contains the well-known episode of Sāgara's daughter, known simply as ''nāgakanya'' ("nāga maiden"), whose transformation allows her to procure the male body of a bodhisattva, followed by becoming a fully enlightened Buddha. This event was preceded by Mañjuśrī's visit to Sāgara's ocean palace, where he taught the Lotus Sutra to the nāgas.

Lalitavistara Sūtra

Sāgara makes a few appearances in the

Lalitavistara Sūtra The ''Lalitavistara Sūtra'' is a Sanskrit Mahayana sutras, Mahayana Buddhist sutra that tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi. The term ''La ...

. He is one among six nāga kings who make the aspiration to venerate the bodhisattva Siddhārtha with clouds and rain of sandalwood powder. When Siddhārtha discarded the golden bowl provided by Sujātā, Sāgara took it from the bottom of the Nairañjanā River and later gave it to Śakra to be enshrined among the gods in Trāyastriṃśa. Towards the end of the story, the Buddha is described as having a rumbling voice like that of one of Sāgara's thunderclouds.

Sutra on the Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara

Three extant versions of this sutra exist in both the Tibetan Kangyur and the Taishō Tripiṭaka (T0598, T0599 and T0601). Known in Sanskrit as the ''Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā Sūtra'', all three texts are vastly different from each other regarding their content. The shortest text opens with the Buddha residing in Sāgara's ocean palace accompanied by an audience of 1,250 monks. The Buddha addresses Sāgara and teaches him that speaking the

Four Dharma Seals Four Dharma Seals are the four characteristics which reflect some Buddhist teaching . It is said that if a teaching contains the Four Dharma Seals then it can be considered Buddha Dharma. This is despite the fact that some believe that the Dharma S ...

is synonymous with speaking the 84,000 methods of teaching the Dharma.

References

{{Buddhism topics Buddhist gods Nāgas Water gods Twenty-Four Protective Deities