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Kalaviṅka

Kalaviṅka ( kalaviṅka; Pali: karavika; Jiālíngpínqié; , ; ; karawik; , Malay: karawek) is a fantastical immortal creature in Buddhism, with a human head and a bird's torso, with long flowing tail.

The kalaviṅka is said to dwell in the Western pure land and is reputed to preach the Dharma with its fine voice. It is said to sing while still unhatched within its eggshell. Its voice is a descriptor of the Buddha's voice. In the Japanese text, it goes by various titles such as , among others.

Edward H. Schafer notes that in East Asian religious art the Kalaviṅka is often confused with the Kinnara, which is also a half-human half-bird hybrid mythical creature, but that the two are actually distinct and unrelated.

Depictions

In Burmese art

The karaweik is commonly used as a motif in traditional Burmese royal barges. The Karaweik located on Yangon's Kandawgyi Lake is an iconic reproduction of the karaweik royal barge.

In Burmese art, the karaweik is depicted as a bird, rather than a bird with a human head.

In Chinese art

In Chinese mural art, it is portrayed as a human-headed, bird-bodied being. In the murals of Dunhuang (敦煌) they appear as figures both dancing and playing music.

In Japanese art

A well-known example is the pair of kalaviṅka carved in openwork (sukashibori) onto a Buddhist hanging ornament called the keman, used in the golden hall of Chūson-ji temple in Iwate Prefecture. The kalaviṅka from this ornament was commemorated on a 120-yen definitive stamp issued Nov. 1, 1962. The pose and general appearance of this piece are similar to the ones seen on the octagonal pedestal of the same temple (pictured right).

  • In another keman from the Tokugawa period (see keman page), the creatures stand more bipedally erect and hence more humanlike.
  • In the ancient courtly dance performance Gagaku - is the name of dance expressive of the kalaviṅka, and is danced in pair with the , a dance of butterfly motif. The paired dancing is called .
  • A kalaviṅka painting by the brushstrokes of Hasegawa Tōhaku resides in Daitoku-ji (Kyoto), inside the erected by tea-master Sen no RikyÅ«.
  • Painted on the ceiling of Tōfuku-ji's Sanmon gate (Kyoto).
  • Painted on the ceiling of Myōshin-ji's Sanmon gate (Kyoto), normally not open to the public.
  • The at 214 Mizusawa, in the former city of Ikaho, Gunma, Main Hall, front right ceiling, painting of a heavenly woman with eagle-like talons, anonymous.
  • Kawakami Sadayakko (Sada Yacco), billed as the first overseas Japanese actress, late in her life, built a villa located at Unumahōshakujichō, Kagamihara, Gifu. The villa was christened by Itō Hirobumi, and the room with the Buddhist altar has a ceiling painting of kalaviṅka, which may be peered from outside (but access to premises only on Tuesday mornings).
  • Kalavinka is a brand of hand-built bicycle frames produced by Tsukumo Cycle Sports, primarily known for their NJS-certified frames used in professional Keirin racing (pictured right).

In Tangut art

The Kalaviṅka is a common feature of Tangut art created during the Western Xia period (1038–1227).

In Hinduism

Kalavinka was born from one of the head of Vishvaroopacharya who was beheaded by Indra. Indra was angry when Vishwaroopacharya was found to be praying for demons instead of gods. Indra cut his three heads which respectively became Kalavinka, Kapinjala, and Tittiri (all birds)

Popular culture

(Manga)
(Novels)
  • ' (恍惚の人, An absent-minded man, 1972) by Ariyoshi Sawako. As "Kalavinka of Paradise", a moniker of some bird.
  • ' (高丘親王航海記, Record of Prince Takaoka's voyages, 1987) by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa. As "kalaviṅkā [... a] bird from the paradise of Hindustan", in a dream by the prince, mixing the bird's beauty with that of Fujiwara no Kusuko's, or "a bird in Yunnan with a face of a woman".
  • ' (赤目四十八瀧心中未遂, The Akame forty-eight waterfall double suicide attempt, 1996) by . As tattoo on the back of Aya, a female character.
  • ' (ナイチンゲールの沈黙, Nightingale's silence, 2006) by , a bestselling medical fiction author.
(Music)
(Cycling)
  • The Tokyo-based Tsukumo Cycle Sports's brand is Kalavinka. Many of the bikes feature the Karyōbinga kanji as well as a head badge which features the image of the karyoubinga with the head of a bodhisattva bosatsu and the winged body of a bird.

See also

References

External links