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那吒

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: Naṭa

Senses:

  • Meaning 'dancer.' An asura 阿修羅 king with three faces, eight arms, with the power to control the world, strong in battle. In the Chan school 禪門 understood to be the eldest son of Vaiśravaṇa 毘沙門, seen as a dharma-protecting spirit 護法神. Also written Nezha or Nuozha 哪吒. See Shahar 21–45 for an in-depth discussion of this figure and its Indian origin as Nalakūbara. (Skt. naṭa) 〔正燈國師語錄 T 2566.81.193a28〕 [Charles Muller, Michel Mohr; source(s): Nakamura, Hirakawa, Soothill]
  • Yokoi gives "Nalakūvara, a furious looking deity who has five heads and six arms..." (p. 492) [Charles Muller; source(s): Yokoi]

  • References:

    Shahar, Meir. 2014. “Indian Mythology and the Chinese Imagination: Nezha, Nalakūbara, and Kṛṣṇa.” In Shahar, Meir,  John Kieschnick, eds. India in the Chinese Imagination: Myth, Religion, and Thought. Philadelphia:  University of Pennsylvania Press.

    [Michel Mohr]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Bulgyo sajeon 113a

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 965d

    A Glossary of Zen Terms (Inagaki) 257

    Kattō gosen (Mujaku Dōchū) /113

    Japanese-English Zen Buddhist Dictionary (Yokoi) 492

    Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 1028d

    Ding Fubao {Digital Version}

    Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa) 1169

    Soothill 247

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    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 2002-06-13

    Updated: 2019-01-31