Virūḍhaka (Heavenly King)

Virūḍhaka
Virūḍhaka
Sanskrit	विरूढक ; Virūḍhaka
Pāli	विरूळ्हक ; Virūḷhaka
Burmese	ဝိရဠက
Chinese	增長天王 ; (Pinyin: Zēngzhǎng Tiānwáng)
Japanese	増長天 ; (romaji: Zōjōten or Zōchōten)
Korean	증장천왕 ; (RR: Jeungjang Cheonwang)
Tagalog	Birudhaka
Thai	ท้าววิรุฬหก ; Thao Virunhok"
Tibetan	འཕགས་སྐྱེས་པོ; Wylie: 'phags skyes po; THL: Pak Kyepo
Vietnamese	Tăng Trưởng Thiên Vương
Information
Venerated by	Theravāda; (Ātānātiya Sutta); (Mahāsamāya Sutta); Mahāyāna; (Golden Light Sutra); (Lalitavistara Sūtra); (Lotus Sutra); (Mahāmāyūrī Vidyārājñī Sūtra);
Attributes	Guardian of the South
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Virūḍhaka is a major deity in Buddhism. He is one of the Four Heavenly Kings and a dharmapala.

Quick Facts Sanskrit, Pāli ...

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Names

The name Virūḍhaka comes from the identical Sanskrit term, which refers to sprouting grain. As such, his name means "increase" or "growth.".^[1] Other names include:

Traditional Chinese: 增長天; simplified Chinese: 増長天; pinyin: Zēngzhǎng Tiānwáng; Japanese: Zōjōten or Zōchōten; Korean: 증장천왕 Jeungjang Cheonwang; Tagalog: Birudhaka; Vietnamese: Tăng Trưởng Thiên, a calque of Sanskrit Virūḍhaka
Traditional Chinese: 毘楼勒叉; pinyin: Bí lóu lè chā; Japanese: Birurokusha; Korean: 비루늑차Biluneugcha; Vietnamese: Tì Lâu Lặc Xoa. This is a transliteration of the original Sanskrit name.
Tibetan: འཕགས་སྐྱེས་པོ, Wylie: 'phags skyes po, THL: Pak Kyepo, "Noble Birth"
Thai: ท้าววิรุฬหก Thao Virunhok is an honorific plus the modern pronunciation of Pali Virūḷhaka.

Characteristics

Virūḍhaka is the guardian of the southern direction. He lives on the southern part of Sumeru. He is leader of the Kumbhanda and pretas.

Theravāda

In the Pāli Canon of Theravāda Buddhism, Virūḍhaka is called Virūlha or Virūḷhaka. Virūḷhaka is one of the Cātummahārājāno, or "Four Great Kings," each of whom rules over a specific direction.^[2]

China

In China, Virūḍhaka's name Zēngzhǎng Tiānwáng (增長天 lit. Growth King) is a reference to his ability to teach sentient beings to grow in compassion. In Chinese temples, he is often enshrined within the Hall of the Heavenly Kings (天王殿) with the other three Heavenly Kings. In iconographic form, he is clad in armor while brandishing a sword. He is also regarded as one of the Twenty Devas (二十諸天 Èrshí Zhūtiān) or the Twenty-Four Devas (二十四諸天 Èrshísì zhūtiān), a group of Buddhist dharmapalas who manifest to protect the Dharma. ^[3]

Japan

In Japan, Zōjōten (増長天) is commonly depicted with a fierce expression. He is clad in armor, often brandishing a sword or spear while trampling a jaki.^[4]