The (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

;

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to 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 '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

) heaven is an important world of the devas in the Buddhist cosmology. The word is an adjective formed from the numeral , "33" and can be translated in English as "belonging to the thirty-three evas. It is primarily the name of the second in the six heavens of the desire realm in Buddhist cosmology, and secondarily used of the devas who dwell there. Trāyastriṃśa is ruled by Śakra.

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 Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...

, 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 (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

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

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

s, 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 The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, ...

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 Matali () is the charioteer of Indra, the king of the devas, in Hinduism. He also acts as the messenger of Indra, inviting Dushyanta to help the deity in his war against the asuras in the Abhijnanashakuntalam. In the Padma Purana, Matali engages i ...

, who drives Śakra's chariot; and Sujā, Śakra's wife and daughter of the Asura chief

Vemacitrin Vemacitrin (Sanskrit) or Vepacitti (Pāli) is the name of a leader of the Asuras who figures prominently in many Buddhist sūtras. Vemacitrin is the most prominent of the leaders of the Asuras in their fight with the devas Devas may refer to: ...

(''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: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

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

abhidharma The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...

. 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 known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...

, 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 ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

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 devas who are said to dwell here: * Śakra Śakra's wives * Sujā Śakra's sons *Suvira * Susīma Śakra's daughters *Āśā (Pali: Āsā) (Luck) *Śraddhā (Pali: Saddhā) (Faith) *Śrī (Pali: Sirī) (Glory) *Hrī (Pali: Hirī) (Modesty) Others * Viśvakarmā – the architect of the devas * Prajāpati * Varuṇa * Īśāna *

– Śakra's charioteer * Pañcaśikha *Suvīra *Susīma *Jālinī * Airāvata – Śakra's elephant mount *Pārileyyaka – an elephant that was reborn in heaven after serving the Buddha

In popular culture

*The '' Dragon Ball'' series features a location called ''the Lookout'' in the English dub and ''Kami's Temple'' (神の神殿 ''kami no shinden'') in the Japanese release. This area is reminiscent of Trāyastriṃśa iconographically, as this heaven is traditionally 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''). *In '' Super Mario Bros. 3'', World 5-1 (Sky Land) features a collection of coins that spell out the number "33." This may be in reference to Trāyastriṃśa, which is further implied by this world's introduction of the Tanooki suit. This power-up allows the player to transform into a stone statue of Kṣitigarbha, a

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

whose background is explained in the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra that takes place in Trāyastriṃśa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trayastrimsa Buddhist cosmology Sanskrit words and phrases

Description

Levels

Residents

In popular culture

See also

References