Daijizaiten - Daijizaiten

A Buddhist deity. Maheshvara is a translation of the Sanskrit word Maheshvara (meaning the chief deity, transliterated as Makeisura). Originally, he was one of the main deities of Hinduism, and was the name of the god Shiva who lived with his consort Parvati on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas. He was adopted into esoteric Buddhism and became one of the twelve heavenly beings, belonging to the Outer Vajrayana of the Taizokai Mandala, and was considered the lord of all worlds, or the great thousand worlds. He is said to live in a beautifully decorated palace on Mount Kunlun, to be protected by 60 heavenly gods, and to be surrounded by a hundred thousand heavenly maidens. His statue is usually depicted as a three-eyed, eight-armed, crowned deity, holding a trident in his hand, and riding a white bull.

[Maeda Noriko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

仏教の神。サンスクリット語のマヘーシュバラMaheśvara（大主宰神の意。摩醯首羅(まけいしゅら)と音写）の訳。元来はヒンドゥー教の主要な神の一つで、ヒマラヤ山脈中のカイラーサ山に神妃パールバティーと住むシバ神の呼称である。密教に取り入れられて十二天の一となり、胎蔵界曼荼羅(たいぞうかいまんだら)の外金剛部に属し、ありとあらゆる世界すなわち大千世界の主とされた。崑崙山(こんろんざん)上の美しく飾られた宮殿に住み、60の天神に守護され、百千の天女に取り巻かれているという。その像は三目八臂(はっぴ)で天冠を頂き、三叉(さ)の戟(げき)を手に持ち、白牛に乗っているのが普通である。

［前田式子］

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