A wisdom king (; IAST: , ) is a type of wrathful deity in East Asian Buddhism.
Whereas the Sanskrit name is translated literally as "wisdom / knowledge king(s)," the term in Vajrayana Buddhism is also specifically used to denote mantras; the term may thus also be rendered "mantra king(s)." is translated in Chinese with the character (lit. "bright, radiant", figuratively "knowledge(able), wisdom, wise"), leading to a wide array of alternative translations such as "bright king(s)" or "radiant king(s)". A similar category of fierce deities known as herukas are found in Tibetan Buddhism.
The female counterparts of wisdom kings are known as wisdom queens (Sanskrit (IAST): , ).
, as their name suggests, are originally conceived of as the guardians and personifications of esoteric wisdom (), namely mantras and dharanis. They were seen as embodying the mystic power contained in these sacred utterances.
During the early stages of esoteric (Vajrayana) Buddhism, many of the deities that would become known as (a term that only came into use around the late 7th-early 8th century) were mainly seen as attendants of bodhisattvas who were invoked for specific ends such as the removal of misfortune and obstacles to enlightenment. They personified certain attributes of these bodhisattvas such as their wisdom or the power of their voices and were held to perform various tasks such as gathering together sentient beings to whom the bodhisattva preaches, subjugating unruly elements, or protecting adherents of Buddhism. Eventually, these divinities became objects of veneration in their own right; no longer necessarily paired with a bodhisattva, they became considered as the manifestations of the bodhisattvas themselves and/or of buddhas, who are believed to assume terrifying forms as a means to save sentient beings out of compassion for them. A belief prevalent in the Japanese tradition known as the (, "bodies of the three wheels") theory for instance posits that five Wisdom Kings are the fierce incarnations (, , lit. "embodiments of the wheel of injunction") of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, who appear both as gentle bodhisattvas who teach the Dharma through compassion and as terrifying who teach through fear, shocking nonbelievers into faith.
The evolution of the will be illustrated here by the deity YamÃÂntaka, one of the earliest Buddhist wrathful deities. In the 6th century text , YamÃÂntaka is portrayed as the oath-bound servant of the bodhisattva Mañjuà Ârë who assembles all beings from across the world to hear the Buddha's preaching and vanquishes (and converts) those who are hostile to Buddhism; at the same time, YamÃÂntaka is also the personification of Mañjuà Ârë's dharani, the benefits of which are identical to his abilities. He was also commonly depicted in statuary along with Mañjuà Ârë as a diminutive yaksha-like attendant figure.
Later, as YamÃÂntaka and similar subordinates of various bodhisattvas (e.g. Hayagrëva, who was associated with Avalokiteà Âvara) became fully independent deities, they began to be portrayed by themselves and increasingly acquired iconographic attributes specific to each. YamÃÂntaka, for instance, is commonly shown with six heads, arms, and legs and riding or standing on a buffalo mount. The status and function of these deities have shifted from being minor emissaries who gather together and intimidate recalcitrant beings to being intimately involved in the primary task of esoteric Buddhism: the transformation of passions and ignorance () into compassion and wisdom. As a result of this development, the relationship between Mañjuà Ârë and YamÃÂntaka was recontextualized such that YamÃÂntaka is now considered to be the incarnation of Mañjuà Ârë himself (so the ). Eventually, in the interpretation of Japanese esoteric Buddhism, both YamÃÂntaka and Mañjuà Ârë - under the name (, ) - became classified as avatars of the buddha AmitÃÂbha.
Other Wisdom Kings followed a more or less similar development. Hayagrëva, for example, was originally the horse-headed incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu which was adopted into Buddhism as Avalokiteà Âvara's attendant (although unlike the Hindu Hayagrëva, the Buddhist figure was never portrayed with a horse's head, instead being depicted like YamÃÂntaka as a yaksha who may have a miniature horse head emerging from his hair). Eventually, as Hayagrëva increasingly rose to prominence, the distinction between him and his superior became increasingly blurred so that he ultimately turned into one of Avalokiteà Âvara's many guises in both China and Japan. One of the more famous vidyÃÂrÃÂjas, Acala (AcalanÃÂtha), was originally an acolyte or messenger of the buddha Vairocana before he was interpreted as Vairocana's fierce aspect or in the Japanese tradition. (In Nepal and Tibet, meanwhile, he is instead identified as the incarnation of either Mañjuà Ârë or the buddha Aká¹£obhya.)
The iconography of Buddhist wrathful deities are usually considered to be derived from yaksha.
Wisdom Kings are usually represented as fierce-looking, often with blue or black skin and multiple heads, arms, and legs. They hold various weapons in their hands and are sometimes adorned with skulls, snakes or animal skins and wreathed in flames. This fiery aura is symbolically interpreted as the fire that purifies the practitioner and transforms one's passions into awakening, the so-called "fire samadhi" ( ).
Certain vidyÃÂrÃÂjas bear attributes that reflect the historical rivalry between Hinduism and Buddhism. For instance, the Wisdom King Trailokyavijaya is shown defeating and trampling on the deva Maheà Âvara (one of the Buddhist analogues to Shiva) and his consort Umà(PÃÂrvatë). A commentary on the Mahavairocana Tantra by the Tang monk Yi Xing meanwhile attributes the taming of Maheà Âvara to another , Acala.
In Chinese and Japanese (Shingon and Tendai) esoteric Buddhism, the Five Great Wisdom Kings (, ; ), also known as the Five Guardian Kings, are a group of vidyÃÂrÃÂjas who are considered to be both the fierce emanations of the Five Wisdom Buddhas and the guardians of Buddhist doctrine. Organized according to the five directions (the four cardinal points plus the center), the Five Kings are usually defined as follows:
In Chinese Buddhism, the Eight Great Wisdom Kings () is another grouping of Wisdom Kings that is depicted in statues, mural art and paintings. The acknowledged canonical source of the grouping of eight is The Sà «tra of the Blazing Uá¹£á¹Âëṣa of the Wondrous Vajra Kuá¹Âá¸Âali and YamÃÂntaka (). Another canonical source for the grouping of eight is the (), the Chinese translation of which, completed in about 980-1000 CE, is attributed to the monk Tianxizai, who is possibly the north Indian Shantideva. Each of the Wisdom Kings correspond to one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas in Chinese Buddhism as well as to a specific compass direction.
The Eight Wisdom Kings, with exceptions in certain lists, are usually defined as:
The more common grouping found in Chinese Buddhism is the Ten Great Wisdom Kings (). Several groupings of the Ten Kings exist based on different canonical scriptural sources, each of which differ slightly in the naming of certain vidyÃÂrÃÂjas and attributing certain Kings to different Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Some examples of acknowledged canonical sources for the grouping of the Ten Wisdom Kings are The Sà «tra of the Liturgy for Brilliant Contemplation of the Ten Wrathful Wisdom Kings of the Illusory Net of the Great Yoga Teachings () as well as The Sà «tra with the Great Instructions that are Universal, Secret, and Unexcelled about the Contemplations of Mañjuà Ârë ().
In contemporary Chinese Buddhist practice, the Ten Wisdom Kings are regularly invoked in ceremonies and rituals, such as the ceremony, where they are provided offerings and entreated to expel evil from the ritual platform. In particular, ritual paintings of the Ten Wisdom Kings are arranged in a particular maá¹Âá¸Âala () during the ceremony, with a particular direction associated with each Wisdom King. The Wisdom King Ucchuá¹£ma (), a manifestation of à Âakyamuni, is not counted among the Ten Wisdom Kings in the ceremony, but he is still invoked separately from the grouping in the same ritual and his image is typically enshrined ahead of the outer north direction of the maá¹Âá¸Âala of the Ten Wisdom Kings. The specific list of the Ten Wisdom Kings invoked during the ceremony, along with their associated directions in the maá¹Âá¸Âala, is canonized in the ceremony's () based on scriptural sources. They are as follows:
Other deities to whom the title vidyÃÂrÃÂja is applied include:
Examples of depictions of the Eight Wisdom Kings can be found at:
Examples of depictions of the Ten Wisdom Kings can be found at: