Thagyamin

Thagyamin (Burmese: သိကြားမင်း, pronounced [ðədʑámɪ́ɴ]; from Sanskrit ၐကြ Śakra) is the highest-ranking nat in traditional Burmese Buddhist belief. Considered king of the second heaven above Catumaharcika, he is derived from the Buddhist deva Śakra and the Hindu deity Indra.[5]

Thagyamin
King of the Gods
God of Lightning, Thunder, Rains and River flows
King of Heaven
The sculpture of Thagyamin In position of chief of nat in Shwezigon Pagoda in Pagan Kingdom. [1][2][3]
Affiliationdeva , nat , Buddhism in Myanmar, Burmese folk religion
AbodeAmarāvati, the capital of Indraloka (Indra's world) in Svarga,[4] Trāyastriṃśa (Heaven of the 33), Mount Meru
WeaponVajra (Thunderbolt), Astras, Vasavi Shakthi
SymbolsVajra, Indra's net
MountAiravata (White elephant), Uchchaihshravas (White horse)
Textsdeva , nat , Buddhism in Myanmar, Burmese folk religion, Jātakas, Epics
ConsortSujā (Buddhism)
Greek equivalentZeus
Roman equivalentJupiter
Norse equivalentThor
Slavic equivalentPerun
A statue of Thagyamin at the Kyauktan Yay-Le Pagoda.

Description

Thagyamin is often portrayed as holding a conch shell in one hand, and a yak-tail fly-whisk in the other, and seated or standing atop a three-headed white elephant (similar to the Thai Erawan).[5] He is described as the ruler of the deva plane of existence, called Trāyastriṃśa (တာဝတိံသာ).

He was designated the preeminent of the official pantheon of 37 atet nat (အထက်နတ်) by King Anawrahta in the 11th century, in an effort to streamline animist practices among the populace and merge these practices with Theravada Buddhism. He is the only nat in the official pantheon not to have undergone a sudden and violent death, called a "green" or "raw" death (စိမ်းသေ).

Every year at the first day of Thingyan (the Burmese new year), Thagyamin visits the earth while being invisible. There, he observes every person: he records the names of good people in a golden book, and writes the names of evildoers in a book made of dog-skin leather. On the third day of Thingyan, he returns to heaven.

See also

Counterparts of Thagyamin in other Asian cultures

References

  1. http://www.craigandstephsvacations.com/Myanmar/2016/Myanmar20161102More.html
  2. https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/king-of-burma.html
  3. http://seasite.niu.edu/burmese/Cooler/Chapter_3/Part2/pagan_period_2.htm
  4. Dalal, Roshen. Hinduism: an Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books, 2014, books.google.com/books?id=zrk0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT561&lpg=PT561&dq=indraloka+hinduism&source=bl&ots=n_TDE8_SQn&sig=b4a5vg6wUlkqPxwC5mfJkeHKP5A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjOvPTWl7zbAhWKr1kKHXUzAUoQ6AEwEnoECAMQAQ#v=onepage&q=indraloka%20hinduism&f=false.
  5. Hla Thamein. "Thirty-Seven Nats". Yangonow. Archived from the original on 2006-06-24. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
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