The (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

;

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

), (''Tushita''; ''Heaven of the Thirty-three''), is an important celestial realm of the devas in Buddhist cosmology. The word ' is an adjective formed from the numeral ', or "33" and can be translated in English as "belonging to the thirty-three devas". It is the name of the second of the six heavens of the desire realm in Buddhist cosmology, and used by the devas who dwell there. Trāyastriṃśa is ruled by Śakra, also known as

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

Description

The 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. is located on the peak of Sumeru, the central mountain of the world, at a height of 80 ''yojanas'' ; the total area of the heaven is 80 yojanas square. This heaven is therefore comparable to the Greek

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

in some respects. According to

Vasubandhu Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; floruit, fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Indian bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and scholar. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of th ...

, inhabitants of 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 is physically connected to the world through Sumeru, unlike the heavens above it, the 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 and who now dwell at the foot of Sumeru, plotting for ways to recover their lost kingdom. There is, however, marriage between the devas and the asuras just as there is between the

Æsir Æsir (Old Norse; singular: ) or ēse (Old English; singular: ) are deities, gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and Nordic mythology, mythology, the precise meaning of the term "" is debated, as it can refer either to the gods i ...

and the jötnar in

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

. The chief of the devas is Śakra (Pāli: ''Sakka''), also known as

. Other 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 heaven appears several times in Buddhist stories, in which either the Buddha ascends to , or (more often) deities from descend to meet the Buddha. The Buddha's mother,

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

, was reborn in the Tusita Heaven, and came down to visit heaven where her son taught her the

abhidharma The Abhidharma are a collection of Buddhist texts dating from the 3rd century BCE onwards, which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. It also refers t ...

. 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 The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontin ...

, 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 the six heavens together with Śakro devānām (Śakra). More heaven "Sunirmita devāḥ" is sometimes added to these depending on sūtras.

Levels

In Mahayana literature, is composed of thirty-three levels. These are enumerated in the . The original Sanskrit names occasionally vary between extant Sanskrit manuscripts and Chinese texts. # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # () # ()

Residents

Below is a list of the

deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

s who are said to dwell here: * Śakra Śakra's wives * Sujā Śakra's sons *Suvira * Susīma Śakra's daughters *Āśā (Pali: Āsā) (Hope) *Śraddhā (Pali: Saddhā) (Faith) *Śrī (Pali: Sirī) (Glory) *Hrī (Pali: Hirī) (Modesty) Others * Viśvakarmā – the architect of the devas * Prajāpati * Varuṇa * Īśāna * Mātali – Śakra's charioteer * Pañcaśikha *Suvīra *Susīma *Jālinī * Airāvata – Śakra's elephant mount *Pārileyyaka – an elephant that was reborn in heaven after serving the Buddha

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trayastrimsa Buddhist cosmology Sanskrit words and phrases

Description

Levels

Residents

See also

References

External links