Virūpākṣa

Virūpākṣa (Sanskrit; Pali: Virūpakkha; traditional Chinese: 廣目天王; simplified Chinese: 广目天王; pinyin: Guǎngmù Tiānwáng; Japanese: 広目天 Kōmokuten) is a major deity in Buddhism. He is one of the Four Heavenly Kings and a dharmapala.

Virūpākṣa
Statue of Virūpākṣa. Jōruri-ji, Japan.
Sanskritविरूपाक्ष
Virūpākṣa
Pāliविरूपक्ख
Virūpakkha
Chinese廣目天王
(Pinyin: Guǎngmù Tiānwáng)
Japanese広目天
(romaji: Kōmokuten)
Korean광목천왕
(RR: Gwangmok Cheonwang)
Thaiท้าววิรูปักษ์
Thao Wirupak
Tibetan སྤྱན་མི་བཟང
Wylie: spyan mi bzang
THL: Chen Mi Zang
VietnameseQuảng Mục Thiên
Information
Venerated byTheravāda
  • (Ātānātiya Sutta)
  • (Mahāsamāya Sutta)

Mahāyāna

AttributesGuardian of the West
 Religion portal

Names

The name Virūpākṣa is a Sanskrit compound of the words virūpa (ugly; deformed) and akṣa (eyes). Buddhaghosa interpreted virūpa as also meaning "various", which lends to the understanding that Virūpākṣa is endowed with clairvoyance.[1] Other names include:

  • traditional Chinese: 廣目天王; simplified Chinese: 广目天王; pinyin: Guǎngmù Tiānwáng; Korean: 광목천왕 Gwangmok Cheonwang; Vietnamese: Quảng Mục Thiên, a calque of Sanskrit Virūpākṣa
  • Traditional Chinese: 毘楼博叉; pinyin: Bílóubóchā; Japanese: Birubakusha; Korean: 비류박차 Bilyubagcha; Vietnamese: Tỳ Lưu Bác Xoa. This is a transliteration of the original Sanskrit name.
  • Tibetan: སྤྱན་མི་བཟང, Wylie: spyan mi bzang , THL Chen Mi Zang, "Ugly Eyes", a calque of Sanskrit Virūpākṣa
  • Thai: ท้าววิรูปักษ์ Thao Wirupak is an honorific plus the modern pronunciation of Pali Virūpakkha.

Characteristics

Virūpākṣa is the guardian of the western direction. He lives on the western part of Sumeru. He is leader of the nāgas and pūtanas.

He possesses the divine eye (Skt. divyena cakṣuṣā), which allows him to see great distances as well as the karma of sentient beings.

Theravāda

In the Pāli Canon of Theravāda Buddhism, Virūpākṣa is called Virūpakkha. Virūpakkha is one of the Cātummahārājāno, or "Four Great Kings," each of whom rules over a specific direction.

He has a daughter named Kālakannī.[2]

Japan
Painting of Kōmokuten

In Japan, Kōmokuten (広目天) is commonly depicted holding a brush in his right hand and a scroll in his left hand. This iconography was used primarily in the Tempyō period, and variations appeared after the Heian period. He is commonly seen wearing Tang period military armor while trampling a jaki.

In the Womb Realm Mandala of the esoteric tradition, Kōmokuten is depicted as having red skin, holding a trident in his right hand while holding a fist with his left hand. One variation includes him wielding a snare.[3]

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gollark: My cheap network switch seems to generate some high-frequency audio noise I can BARELY hear and it's annoying.
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gollark: pls faketext 516397045704294435 #mod-chat
gollark: pls faketext 258639553357676545

See also
Korean statue of Gwangmok Cheonwang (Virūpākṣa)

References
  1. "Virūpākṣa". Wisdom Library. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  2. "Virūpakkha". Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  3. "広目天". JAANUS. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  • Media related to Virupaksa at Wikimedia Commons
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