Trāyastriṃśa

File:The Buddha and Nanda in the Heaven of the 33 Gods, Pakistan, San Diego Museum of Art.JPG

Buddha and Nanda visit the Divya Apsaras in Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, Gandhara.

File:Descent of the Buddha from the Trayastrimsa Heaven Sanchi Stupa 1 Northern Gateway.jpg

Descent of the Buddha from the Trayastrimsa Heaven at Sankissa.

Template:Template other The (Sanskrit; Pali ), (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.

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 in some respects.

According to Vasubandhu, 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 and the jötnar in Norse mythology.

The chief of the devas is Śakra (Pāli: Sakka), also known as Indra. 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, was reborn in the Tusita Heaven, and came down to visit heaven where her son taught her the abhidharma.

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, 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

File:วัดกก เขตบางขุนเทียน กรุงเทพมหานคร (6).JPG

Gods and goddesses dwell on Trāyastriṃśa heaven in Thai mural

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.

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Residents

Below is a list of the devas 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

See also

• Svarga
• Thirty-three gods, the Hindu equivalent