Eight Great Yakṣa Generals

Sōryū Tamura's "Bishamonten Mandala"
Vaiśravaṇa flanked by the Eight Yakṣa Generals and Nāga Kings.

The Eight Great Yakṣa Generals (八大夜叉大将), or simply the Eight Yakṣa Generals are guardian deities in Buddhism. They are retainers of Vaiśravaṇa, guardian of the north and king of the yakṣas.

In East Asia, they are also variously known as the Eight Great Yakṣas (八大藥叉), the Eight Great Heavenly Kings (八大天王), and the Eight Brothers of Vaiśravaṇa (毘沙門八兄弟).

Relationship to Vaiśravaṇa

The term yakṣarākṣasa has been used as a general term to denote the many classes of spirits in Indian mythology, combining the words yakṣa and rākṣasa.

According to Buddhist mythology, Vaiśravaṇa is the chief of these beings, and long ago dwelt together with them in the realm of darkness. When Vaiśravaṇa converted to Buddhism, the many demonic spirits under his jurisdiction likewise assumed the role of devotees to the Buddha. Originally malevolent beings, their conversion led to their deification as benevolent guardian deities.

Among the many yakṣas under Vaiśravaṇa's rule, the Eight Great Yakṣa Generals are ranked at the top of the hierarchy. Always at Vaiśravaṇa's command, these deities command 36,000 yakṣas that serve their king and are said to protect those who venerate them. A similar list may be found among the Twenty-Eight Great Yakṣa Generals.

Yakṣa Generals

Their names are given in the Commentary on the Mahāvairocana Abhisaṃbodhi Tantra (大毘盧遮那成佛經疏) as follows:

Sanskrit	Kanji	Rōmaji	Pinyin	Vietnamese	Korean
Maṇibhadra	宝賢	Hōken	Bǎoxián	Bảo Hiền	보현
Pūrṇabhadra	満賢	Manken	Mǎnxián	Mãn Hiền	만현
Pañcika	散支	Sanshi	Sànzhī	Mật Chủ Mật Thân	산지
Śatagiri	衆徳	Shūtoku	Zhòngdé	Uy Thần Chúng Đức	중덕
Haimavata	応念	Ōnen	Yīngniàn	Chủ Tuyết Sơn Giả Ứng Niệm	응념
Viśākhā	大満	Daiman	Dàmǎn	Đại Mãn Trì Pháp	대만
Āṭavaka	無比力	Muhiriki	Wúbǐlì	Vô Tỉ Lực Vô Tỉ Thân	무비력
Pañcala	密厳	Mitsugon	Mìyán	Mật Nghiêm	밀엄

See also

• Twelve Heavenly Generals