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Twelve Heavenly Generals

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InEast Asian Buddhism,theTwelve Heavenly GeneralsorTwelve Divine Generalsare the protective deities, oryaksha,ofBhaisajyaguru,thebuddhaof healing. They are introduced in the Medicine Buddha Sutra orBhaiṣajyaguruvaidūryaprabharājaSūtra.[1] They are collectively named as follows:

  • simplified Chinese:Mười hai thần tướng;traditional Chinese:Mười hai thần tướng;pinyin:Shí'èr Shén Jiāng
  • Japanese:Jūni Shinshō(Mười hai thần tướng)orJūni Shinnō(Mười hai thần vương)orJūni Yakusha Taishō(Mười hai dược xoa đại tướng)[2]

Names of generals[edit]

The precise names of the generals seem to vary depending on tradition. Those listed below are from an available Sanskrit transcription of theBhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabhārāja Sūtra:[3]

Sanskrit Hanzi Pinyin Rōmaji Vietnamese Tagalog Tibetan (Wly.) Zodiac Zodiac (Japan)[4] Honji
Kiṃbhīra Cung bì la Guānpíluò
Jīnpíluò		 Kubira
Kompira(Shinto)		 Cung Tỳ La Kimbhila Ji 'jigs Boar Rat Maitreya
Vajra Phạt chiết la Fázhéluò Basara, Bazara Phạt Chiết La Vajla Rdo rje Dog Ox Mahāsthāmaprāpta
Mekhila Mê xí la Míqǐluò Mekira Mê Súy La Mekhila Rgyan 'dzin Rooster Tiger Amitābha
Antila An đế la Āndǐluò Anchira, Anteira An Để La Antila Gza' 'dzin Monkey Rabbit Avalokiteśvara
Anila Át 儞 la Ènǐluò Anira Át Nể La Anila Rlung 'dzin Sheep Dragon Mārīcī
Saṇṭhila San đế la Shāndìluò Sanchira, Santeira San Để La Santhila Gnas bcas Horse Snake Ākāśagarbha
Indala Nhân đạt la Yīndàluò Indara Nhân Đạt La Indala Dbang 'dzin Snake Horse Kṣitigarbha
Pāyila Sóng di la Bōyìluò Haira Bà Di La Payila Gtun 'dzin Dragon Sheep Mañjuśrī
Mahāla Ma hổ la Mòhǔluò Makora Ma Hổ La Mahala Sgra 'dzin Rabbit Monkey Yamantaka[5]
Cidāla Thật đạt la Zhēndàluò Shindara Chân Đạt La Sidala Bsam 'dzin Tiger Rooster Samantabhadra
Caundhula Chiêu đỗ la Zhāodùluò Shōtora Chiêu Đổ La Saundhula 'dzin Ox Dog Vajrapāṇi
Vikala Bì yết la Píjiéluò Bikara
Bigyara		 Tỳ Yết La Bikala Rdzogs byed Mouse Boar Śākyamuni

Descriptions of each Heavenly General[edit]

Zhendaluo ( chiêu đỗ la )[edit]

Zhendaluo ( thật đạt la ) around 3m tall statue inLingyin Temple,Hangzhou China
 Short description about Zhendaluo

Zhaoduluo ( chiêu đỗ la )[edit]

Zhaoduoluo ( chiêu đỗ la ) around 3m tall statue inLingyin Temple,Hangzhou China
 Short description about Zhaoduluo
One of theTwelve Heavenly Generals at the Tokyo National Museum.
Another one of the Twelve Heavenly Generals.

While theHonjiand zodiac correspondences listed above are the standard in Japanese sources, there is variation among texts and regional traditions.[6]

Popular culture[edit]

  • Statues of the Twelve Heavenly Generals stand inNgong Ping,Hong Kong.
  • The Heavenly Generals all appear as Boss characters in 1994 video gameShin Megami Tensei II.They are depicted as servants ofĀṭavaka,and share the unique classification "Shinshou".
  • The Heavenly Generals and their names were used as character material for the powerful digital monster characters who serve the "Four Holy Beasts" (Digimon Sovereigns in the English Dub) in the Digital World, from the 2001 seriesDigimon Tamers,albeit with the names mismatched, due to being based on the Japanese zodiac classification.
  • Granblue Fantasystarted to release series of playable units in 2015 which called "The 12 Divine Generals". Each of these units are named after the corresponding zodiac they represent. The Japanese version use adapted Hepburn romanization, while the English version adapted from Sanskrit.
  • Jujutsu Kaisenintroduced Mahāla as a summon for one of the Ten Shadows technique, dubbing it the "Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sīla Divine General Makora," which was mistranslated as "Mahoraga," despite the furigana for the both of them being distinct. A golden cursed tool with the power of lightning, and shaped similarly to adornments of the electric-themed Vajra named “Kamutoke” also makes an appearance.

References[edit]

  1. ^Mary Neighbour Parent (2001)."JAANUS - Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System".Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology(online ed.).Retrieved2009-04-20.
  2. ^Mark Schumacher."12 Divine Generals of Yakushi Buddha".A to Z Photo Dictionary: Japanese Buddhist Statuary.Retrieved2009-06-24.
  3. ^"Bhaiṣajyaguruvaidūryaprabharājasūtram".Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon.Retrieved2019-03-02.
  4. ^"Twelve Heavenly Generals of Yakushi Buddha (source: Ancient Buddhism in Japan, Vol. II (Leiden: 1935, pp. 551-553))".BUDDHISM & SHINTŌ IN JAPAN.Retrieved2022-09-16.
  5. ^Đặt lại tân bản, thế giới đại bách khoa sự điển nội ngôn cập, tinh tuyển bản nước Nhật ngữ đại từ điển,デジタル đại từ tuyền, đặt lại tân bản thế giới đại bách khoa sự điển, Nhật Bản đại bách khoa toàn thư (ニッポニカ), bách khoa sự điển マイペディア,ブリタニカ quốc tế đại bách khoa sự điển tiểu hạng mục sự điển, sơn xuyên Nhật Bản sử tiểu từ điển."Mười hai thần tướng (じゅうにじんしょう)とは? Ý vị や sử い phương".コトバンク(in Japanese).Retrieved2024-04-10.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^"Dược sư mười hai thần tướng".Flying Deity Tobifudo.Retrieved2019-03-02.

External links[edit]

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