དབང་པོ། | Glossary of Terms

Name of a god (deva), epithet of Śakra.

See “Śakra.”

The deity, also called Mahendra (“Lord of the Devas”), who dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. He is also known as Śakra (Tib. brgya byin, “Hundred Offerings”). Śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu (“one who has performed a hundred sacrifices”). The highest Vedic sacrifice was the horse-sacrifice ritual, and there is a tradition that Indra became the lord of the gods through performing them.

Indra is the Vedic king of the gods of the atmosphere or sky. Indra is included in the Buddhist pantheon as a guardian of the Dharma and the king of the deva realm.

A Vedic god who eventually emerged as one of the most important in the Vedic pantheon. Indra retains his role as the “Lord of the Gods” in Buddhist literature, where he is often referred to by the name Śakra.

King of the gods.

King of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Also known as Śakra.

The lord of the devas, the principal deity in the Vedas. Indra and Brahmā were the two most important deities in the Buddha’s lifetime, and were later eclipsed by the increasing importance of Śiva and Viṣṇu.

Another name for Śakra.

King of the gods of Trāyastriṃśa, usually referred to by the name “Śakra.”

In most Buddhist texts he is known as Śakra; however, as the forty-eighth of the designs on the Tathāgatha’s hands and feet his name Indra, meaning “lord,” is used.

A major god in the Vedic pantheon, he dwindled in importance after Vedism was transformed into Hinduism in the early A.D. centuries. However, he was reinstated in Buddhist sūtras as the king of the gods and as a disciple of the Buddha and protector of the Dharma and its practicers.

The chief god in the realm of Thirty-Three and Hindu deity. Also known as Śakra.

Name of a god.

The chief god in the realm of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, also known as Śakra.

Another name of Śakra.

A god.

A Vedic god who eventually emerged as one of the most important in the Vedic pantheon; Indra retains his role as the “King of the Gods” in Buddhist literature, where he is often referred to by the name Śakra

The chief god in the realm of Thirty-three and Hindu deity (personification of the sun). Also called Śakra.

One of the principal Hindu gods, the leader of the gods of the realm of Thirty-Three.

The god Indra; Indra is often referred to by the epithet Śakra; when used in the plural it refers to a class of gods; The name of an ancient Buddhist king; one of the Buddhist mleccha kings.

The chief god in the realm of Thirty-Three. Also known as Śakra.

A Vedic god who, along with Brahmā, first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. Indra’s importance in the Brahmanical pantheon was eventually eclipsed by Viṣṇu. In Buddhist literature he is also known by the name Śakra.

One of the eight guardians of the directions, Indra guards the eastern quarter.