Trāyastriṃśa
| Translations of Trāyastriṃśa |
|
|---|---|
| Pali | Tāvatiṃsa |
| Sanskrit | Trāyastriṃśa |
| Burmese |
တာဝတိံသာ (IPA: [tàwədèɪɴðà]) |
| Chinese |
忉利天 (Pinyin: =Dāolì tiān) |
| Japanese |
忉利天 (rōmaji: Tōriten) |
| Korean |
도리천 (RR: Doricheon) |
| Thai | ดาวดึงส์ (rtgs: Daowadueng) |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
The Trāyastriṃśa (Sanskrit; Pali Tāvatiṃsa) heaven is an important world of the devas in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. The word trāyastriṃśa is an adjective formed from the numeral trayastriṃśat, "33" and can be translated in English as "belonging to the thirty-three [devas]". It is primarily the name of the second heaven in Buddhist cosmology, and secondarily used of the devas who dwell there.
The Trāyastriṃśa heaven is the second of the heavens of the Kāmadhātu, and the highest of the heavens that maintains a physical connection with the rest of the world. Trāyastriṃśa is located on the peak of Sumeru, the central mountain of the world, at a height of 80,000 yojanas (perhaps about 400,000 miles); the total area of the heaven is 80,000 yojanas square. This heaven is therefore comparable to the Greek Mount Olympus in some respects.
According to Vasubandhu, inhabitants of Trāyastriṃśa are each half a krośa tall (about 1500 feet) and live for 1000 years, of which each day is equivalent to 100 years of our world: that is, for a total of 36 million of our years.
Since Trāyastriṃśa is physically connected to the world through Sumeru, unlike the heavens above it, the Trāyastriṃśa devas are unable to avoid being entangled in worldly affairs. In particular, they frequently find themselves in quarrels with the asuras, a separate set of divine beings who were expelled from Trāyastriṃśa and who now dwell at the foot of Sumeru, plotting for ways to recover their lost kingdom. There is, however, marriage between the devas and the asuras just as there is between the Æsir and the jötnar in Norse mythology.
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