Kalaviṅka ( ''kalaviṅka'';

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 ...

: karavika; ''Jiālíngpínqié''; , ; ; karawik; , Malay: ''karawek'') is a fantastical immortal creature in

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 ...

, with a human head and a bird's torso, with long flowing tail. The kalaviṅka is said to dwell in the Western pure land and is reputed to preach the

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

with its fine voice. It is said to sing while still unhatched within its eggshell. Its voice is a descriptor of the Buddha's voice. In the Japanese text, it goes by various titles such as ,''Kojien'' dictionary, 2nd rev. ed., 1976, among others. Edward H. Schafer notes that in East Asian religious art the Kalaviṅka is often confused with the

Kinnara A kinnara (Sanskrit: Kiṃnara) is a creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. They are described as part human and part bird, and have a strong association with music and love. Believed to come from the Himalayas, they often watch ove ...

, which is also a half-human half-bird hybrid mythical creature, but that the two are actually distinct and unrelated.

Depictions

In Burmese art

The karaweik is commonly used as a motif in traditional Burmese

royal barge A royal barge is a vessel that is used by a monarch for ceremonial processions, and (historically) for routine transport, usually on a river or inland waterway. It may also be known as a state barge, and may be used on occasion by other members o ...

s. The

Karaweik Karaweik ( ) or Karaweik Hall is a structure and landmark on the eastern shore of Kandawgyi Lake, Yangon, Burma. Etymology The word ''karaweik'' comes from Pali ''karavika'' (), which is a mythical bird with a melodious cry. History The struc ...

located on

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Kandawgyi Lake Kandawgyi Lake ( ; ), is one of two major lakes in Yangon, Myanmar. Located east of the Shwedagon Pagoda, the lake is artificial; water from Inya Lake is channelled through a series of pipes to Kandawgyi Lake. It was created to provide a clean wa ...

is an iconic reproduction of the karaweik royal barge.

In Chinese art

In Chinese mural art, it is portrayed as a human-headed, bird-bodied being. In the murals of

Dunhuang Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...

(敦煌) they appear as figures both dancing and playing music. File:Yuan Kalavinka from Beijing.jpg, Grey pottery sculpture of a Kalaviṅka (missing its head) from the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

capital of Dadu. File:Bird of Life (共命鸟), playing a panpipe.jpg, China, mid-Tang Dynasty. Artwork from the Dunhuang Grottos, Yulin Cave number 25 showing a Bird of Life (共命鸟), playing a panpipe. File:Bird of Life (共命鸟), playing a pipa, with dancer playing drum.jpg, China, mid-Tang Dynasty. Artwork from the Dunhuang Grottos, Yulin Cave number 25 showing a Bird of Life, playing a pipa, with a dancer playing drum

In Japanese art

A well-known example is the pair of kalaviṅka carved in openwork (''

sukashibori is the Japanese term for openwork or pierced work, using various techniques in metalworking and other media, in which the foreground design is left intact, while background areas are cut away and removed (or the converse may be performed). (revi ...

'') onto a Buddhist hanging ornament called the keman, used in the golden hall of

Chūson-ji is a Buddhist temple in the town of Hiraizumi in southern Iwate Prefecture, Japan. It is the head temple of the Tendai sect in Tōhoku region of northern Honshu. The temple claims it was founded in 850 by Ennin, the third chief abbot of the se ...

temple in

Iwate Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

. The kalaviṅka from this ornament was commemorated on a 120-yen definitive stamp issued Nov. 1, 1962. The pose and general appearance of this piece are similar to the ones seen on the octagonal pedestal of the same temple (pictured right). * In another ''keman'' from the

Tokugawa period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

(see keman page), the creatures stand more bipedally erect and hence more humanlike. *In the ancient courtly dance performance

Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794–1185) arou ...

- is the name of dance expressive of the ''kalaviṅka'', and is danced in pair with the , a dance of butterfly motif. The paired dancing is called . *A kalaviṅka painting by the brushstrokes of

Hasegawa Tōhaku was a Japanese Painting, painter and founder of the Hasegawa school. He is considered one of the great painters of the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573-1603), and he is best known for his folding screens, such as ''Shōrin-zu byōbu, Pine Trees ...

resides in

Daitoku-ji is a Rinzai school Zen Buddhist temple in the Murasakino neighborhood of Kita-ku in the city of Kyoto Japan. Its ('' sangō'') is . The Daitoku-ji temple complex is one of the largest Zen temples in Kyoto, covering more than . In addition to ...

(Kyoto), inside the erected by tea-master

Sen no Rikyū , also known simply as Rikyū, was a Japanese tea master considered the most important influence on the ''chanoyu'', the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspect ...

. *Painted on the ceiling of

Tōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku in Kyoto, Japan. Tōfuku-ji takes its name from two temples in Nara, Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji.Japan ReferenceTōfuku-ji/ref> It is one of the Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five great Zen temples of Kyoto". It ...

's Sanmon gate (Kyoto). *Painted on the ceiling of

Myōshin-ji is a temple complex in Kyoto, Japan, which serves as the head temple of the associated branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. The Myōshin-ji School is by far the largest school in Rinzai Zen, approximately as big as the other thirteen branches combined: ...

's Sanmon gate (Kyoto), normally not open to the public. *The at 214 Mizusawa, in the former city of Ikaho, Gunma, Main Hall, front right ceiling, painting of a heavenly woman with eagle-like talons, anonymous. *Kawakami Sadayakko (

Sada Yacco Sada Yacco or was a Japanese geisha, actress and dancer. Early life Sadayakko Kawakami was born July 18, 1871, the youngest of twelve children. "My grandfather on my mother's side was an assistant magistrate and rather famous, I hear. Our house ...

), billed as the first overseas Japanese actress, late in her life, built a villa located at Unumahōshakujichō, Kagamihara, Gifu. The villa was christened by

Itō Hirobumi Kazoku, Prince , born , was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888, and later from 1892 to 1896, in 1898, and from 1900 to 1901. He was a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior state ...

, and the room with the Buddhist altar has a ceiling painting of kalaviṅka, which may be peered from outside (but access to premises only on Tuesday mornings).

In Tangut art

The Kalaviṅka is a common feature of Tangut art created during the

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia ( zh, c=, w=Hsi1 Hsia4, p=Xī Xià), officially the Great Xia ( zh, c=大夏, w=Ta4 Hsia4, p=Dà Xià, labels=no), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts ...

period (1038–1227). File:Glazed Kalavinka.jpg,

Glazed pottery Kalaviṅka-shaped architectural ornament. File:Grey Kalavinka.jpg,

Grey pottery Kalaviṅka-shaped architectural ornament.

In Hinduism

Kalavinka was born from one of the head of Vishvaroopacharya who was beheaded by Indra. Indra was angry when Vishwaroopacharya was found to be praying for demons instead of gods. Indra cut his three heads which respectively became Kalavinka, Kapinjala, and Tittiri (all birds)

Popular culture

;(Manga) * ''

RG Veda is a manga created by Clamp, consisting of ten volumes in all. It was first published in Japan in 1989 as Clamp's debut manga. The story features elements of Vedic mythology; the title itself is pronounced ''Rigveda'', the name of one of t ...

'' by CLAMP: Ancient Hindu mythology theme. A sickly princess character. * by Megumi Tachikawa : based on

Amano-Iwato is a cave in Japanese mythology. According to the ''Kojiki'' (''Records of Ancient Matters'') and the ''Nihon Shoki'', the bad behavior of Susano'o, the Japanese god of storms, drove his sister Amaterasu into the Ama-no-Iwato cave. The land w ...

legend. A sacred bird character. ;(Novels) * ' (ナイチンゲールの沈黙 Nightingale's silence) by , bestselling medical fiction author: * '(高丘親王航海記 Prince Takaoka's voyages) by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa * ' (赤目四十八瀧心中未遂 Akame forty-eight waterfall suicide pact attempt) by : Tattooed on the back of Aya, a female character. ;(Music) * '' Kalavinka'' by

Buck-Tick Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese rock band formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The classic lineup of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi and drum ...

;(Cycling) * The Tokyo-based Tsukumo Cycle Sports's brand is Kalavinka. Many of the bikes feature the Karyōbinga kanji as well as a head badge which features the image of the karyoubinga with the head of a bodhisattva bosatsu and the winged body of a bird.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalavinka Buddhist legendary creatures Human-headed mythical creatures Chinese legendary creatures Japanese legendary creatures Legendary birds Pure Land Buddhism Birds in Buddhism