Vaiśravaṇa

Vaiśravaṇa (Sanskrit: वैश्रवण) or Vessavaṇa (Pali; Tibetan: རྣམ་ཐོས་སྲས་, Lhasa dialect: [Namtösé], simplified Chinese: 多闻天王; traditional Chinese: 多聞天王; pinyin: Duōwén Tiānwáng, Japanese: 毘沙門天, romanized: Bishamonten), is one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and is considered an important figure in Buddhism.

The name Vaiśravaṇa is derived from the Sanskrit viśravaṇa which means "son of Vishrava", a usual epithet of the Hindu god Kubera.

The mongoose is the enemy of the snake, a symbol of greed or hatred; the ejection of jewels represents generosity.

Vessavaṇa's wife is named Bhuñjatī, and he has five daughters, Latā, Sajjā, Pavarā, Acchimatī, and Sutā.

As with all the Buddhist deities, Vessavaṇa is properly the name of an office (filled for life) rather than a permanent individual.

When Gautama Buddha was born, Vessavaṇa became his follower, and eventually attained the stage of sotāpanna, one who has only seven more lives before enlightenment.

Bimbisāra, King of Magadha, after his death was reborn as a yakkha called Janavasabha in the retinue of Vessavaṇa.

In China, Vaiśravaṇa, also known as Píshāméntiān (毗沙門天), is one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and is he is considered to be a warrior god and protector of the north.

[11] In Taoist belief, he is conflated with the god Li Jing, whose iconography incorporates many of Vaiśravaṇa's characteristics, such as carrying a pagoda.

In Japan, Bishamonten (毘沙門天), or just Bishamon (毘沙門) is thought of as an armor-clad god of war or warriors and a punisher of evildoers.

As such, Vaiśravaṇa is sometimes portrayed carrying a citron, the fruit of the jambhara tree, a pun on another name of his, Jambhala.

[citation needed] At Wat Chulamanee temple in Samut Songkhram Province, there is a huge statue of him that is very popular in worship, until becoming a phenomenon in the early 2022.

[citation needed] In the Touhou Project video game series, Shou Toramaru, a tiger yōkai, serves as a physical avatar of Bishamonten.

She has the ability to gather treasures and create gemstones with her jeweled pagoda, reflecting Bishamonten's status as one of the Seven Lucky Gods.