Indra, with the epitaph of Śakra ( ; ) is the ruler of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven according to

Buddhist cosmology Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the Universe according to Buddhist Tripitaka, scriptures and Atthakatha, commentaries. It consists of a temporal and a spatial cosmology. The temporal cosmology describes the ...

. The name Śakra ("powerful") as an epithet of

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 ...

is found in several verses of the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

. Indra is also referred to by the title "Śakra, Lord 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" (Sanskrit: ; Pali: ). In

East Asian East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

cultural traditions, Indra Śakra is known as () or () in Chinese, as () in Japanese, as () in Korean, and as () or () in Vietnamese. In

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...

, Indra Śakra is sometimes identified with the

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

Jade Emperor In the Chinese mythology, myths and Chinese folk religion, folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the Primordial Divinity (Tai Di), primordial god. In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of ...

( , often simplified to ); both share a birthday on the ninth day of the first lunar month of the

Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...

(usually in February). The Trāyastriṃśa heaven in which Indra Śakra rules is located on the top of Mount Meru, imagined to be the polar center of the physical world, around which the Sun and Moon revolve. Trāyastriṃśa is the highest of the heavens in direct contact with humankind. Like all deities, Indra Śakra is long-lived but mortal. When one Śakra dies, his place is taken by another deity who becomes the new Śakra. Several stories about Indra Śakra are found in the Jataka tales, as well as several

suttas Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and Schools of Buddhism, its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli C ...

. Indra Śakra is married to Sujā, daughter of the chief of the

asuras Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, ...

, Vemacitrin (Pāli ''Vepacitti''). Despite this relationship, a state of war generally exists between the thirty-three gods and the asuras, which Indra Śakra manages to resolve with minimal violence and no loss of life. Indra Śakra is often depicted in

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

as a being who consults the

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 legends, he was ...

on matters of morality. Together with Brahmā, he is considered a dharmapala, a protector of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Etymology

"Śakra" is a Sanskrit word meaning ""mighty"" or "powerful," and is used as an epithet of Indra in hymn 5.34 of the Rigveda. The related Pāli lexeme "Sakka" seems to have been the standard name of the king of heaven in Buddhist tradition.

Names

Śakra is known by several names in Buddhist texts. Some of these include: * (

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 ...

; zh, c=因陀羅, p=Yīntuóluó; Japanese: , ) * (Sanskrit; lit. "Great

the Dark") * ( zh, c=娑婆婆, p=Suōpópo, links=no; Japanese: ; or zh, c=婆婆, p=Pópo, labels=no; Japanese: ). * (Sanskrit; zh, c=千眼, p=Qiānyǎn, links=no; lit. "Thousand Eyes") *( zh, c=天主, p=Tiānzhǔ, links=no; lit. "Lord of Heaven")

Theravāda

Sakka's mythology and character is expounded upon in the

Pali Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...

, particularly in the Sakka Saṃyutta of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Sakka plays a significant role in several of the Jātaka tales. The commentator Buddhaghoṣa has identified Sakka as being identical to Vajrapāṇi. In the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16), Sakka speaks the following verse, which has become standard in Buddhist funeral rites:

Mahāyāna

In the Book of Equanimity, Śakra plays a central role in the fourth koan. In the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, Śakra utters a stanza in response to the Buddha's death as a recognition of the

Four Noble Truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (; ; "The Four Arya (Buddhism), arya satya") are "the truths of the noble one (the Buddha)," a statement of how things really are (Three marks of existence, the three marks of existence) when they are seen co ...

. It is identical to the Pali formula found in the corresponding sutta.: He is also recognized as one of the Twenty-Four Guardian Devas in Chinese Buddhist tradition.

Iconography

In Southeast Asia's Theravada communities, Śakra is depicted with blue or black skin, alongside a mount, Airavata, a three-headed elephant.

Folk belief

Śakra is equated with Haneullim in Korean folk religion. According to the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, it is believed that Śakra is Hwanung's father. In

, some equate him with the

. In Mongolian Buddhism, Qormusta Tengri is syncretized with Śakra, and is believed to be involved with the creation of fire. The ceremonial name of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

alludes to Śakra: This name is composed of both

Pāli Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a classical Middle Indo-Aryan language of 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 '' Therav� ...

and

, prefaced with the only one Thai word, ''Krung'', which means 'capital'. It can thus be written as: "Krung-dēvamahānagara amararatanakosindra mahindrāyudhyā mahātilakabhava navaratanarājadhānī purīramya uttamarājanivēsana mahāsthāna amaravimāna avatārasthitya shakrasdattiya vishnukarmaprasiddhi."

Popular culture

Śakra makes several appearances in popular culture, including: *He is a character in the mobile game '' Monster Strike''. *He appears as a villain in the Chinese comic '' Fung Wan''. *He also appears as a villain in the manga series '' RG Veda''. *Indra Ōtsutsuki from the ''

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

'' series is loosely based on Śakra. His younger brother's name is Asura, which plays on the myth of the battle between the deva and the asura. *It is possible that

Kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

and Mr. Popo from the '' Dragon Ball'' series share a connection with Śakra. Mr. Popo's name is phonetically similar to the Chinese pronunciation of Sahassākkha (婆婆 ''Pópo''), an epithet of Śakra. Kami's role as guardian deity is also similar to Śakra's relationship with the human world. This is further supported by the function of the Lookout, Kami's temple, which is reminiscent of Trāyastriṃśa heaven. Traditionally, this heaven is depicted as a flat surface on the top of Mt. Sumeru. There are thirty-two trees on the Lookout, which equate to the same number of palaces in Trāyastriṃśa (not counting the thirty-third, Śakra's palace, exemplified by the hyperbolic time chamber).

References

Bibliography

* Bhikkhu Analayo (2011)
Śakra and the Destruction of Craving – A Case Study in the Role of Śakra in Early Buddhism
The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 12, 157-176 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakra Buddhist gods Mythological kings Thunder gods Trickster gods Buddhist cosmology Twenty-Four Protective Deities Indra Kōshin Tenrikyo