Virūḍhaka (Heavenly King)

Virūḍhaka is a major deity in Buddhism. He is one of the Four Heavenly Kings and a dharmapala.

Virūḍhaka
Sanskritविरूढक
Virūḍhaka
Pāliविरूळ्हक
Virūḷhaka
Burmeseဝိရဠက
Chinese增長天王
(Pinyin: Zēngzhǎng Tiānwáng)
Japanese増長天
(romaji: Zōjōten or Zōchōten)
Korean증장천왕
(RR: Jeungjang Cheonwang)
Thaiท้าววิรุฬหก
Thao Virunhok"
Tibetanའཕགས་སྐྱེས་པོ
Wylie: 'phags skyes po
THL: Pak Kyepo
VietnameseTăng Trưởng Thiên
Information
Venerated byTheravāda
  • (Ātānātiya Sutta)
  • (Mahāsamāya Sutta)

Mahāyāna

AttributesGuardian of the South
Religion portal

Names

The name Virūḍhaka comes from the identical Sanskrit term, which refers to sprouting grain. As such, his name means "increase" or "growth.".[1] Other names include:

  • Traditional Chinese: 增長天; simplified Chinese: 増長天; pinyin: Zēngzhǎng Tiānwáng; Japanese: Zōjōten or Zōchōten; Korean: 증장천왕 Jeungjang Cheonwang; Vietnamese: Tăng Trưởng Thiên, a calque of Sanskrit Virūḍhaka
  • Traditional Chinese: 毘楼勒叉; pinyin: Bí lóu lè chā; Japanese: Birurokusha; Korean: 비루늑차Biluneugcha; Vietnamese: Tỳ Lưu Ly. This is a transliteration of the original Sanskrit name.
  • Tibetan: འཕགས་སྐྱེས་པོ, Wylie: 'phags skyes po, THL: Pak Kyepo, "Noble Birth"
  • Thai: ท้าววิรุฬหก Thao Virunhok is an honorific plus the modern pronunciation of Pali Virūḷhaka.

Characteristics

Virūḍhaka is the guardian of the southern direction. He lives on the southern part of Sumeru. He is leader of the Kumbhanda and pretas.

Theravāda

In the Pāli Canon of Theravāda Buddhism, Virūḍhaka is called Virūlha or Virūḷhaka. Virūḷhaka is one of the Cātummahārājāno, or "Four Great Kings," each of whom rules over a specific direction.[2]

Japan

In Japan, Zōjōten (増長天) is commonly depicted with a fierce expression. He is clad in armor, often brandishing a sword or spear while trampling a jaki.[3]

The Heavenly King Zōchō.

References
  1. "Virūḍhaka". Wisdom Library. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  2. "Virūlha". Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  3. "Zouchouten 増長天". JAANUS. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  • Media related to Virudhaka at Wikimedia Commons


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