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| Mahesvara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sanskrit | Maheśvara |
| Pāli | Mahissara |
| Chinese | 大自在天 (Pinyin:Dàzìzàitiān) |
| Japanese | 大自在天 (romaji:Daijizaiten) |
| Tagalog | Mahesbala |
 Religion portal | |
Maheśvara (Sanskrit: महेश्वर;Pali:Mahissara;traditional Chinese/Japanese: 大自在天;Pinyin:Dàzìzàitiān,Rōmaji:Daijizaiten) is adeva inBuddhist mythology. He is also sometimes referred to as SabbalokādhipatīDevā inPali literature. His main duty is to give spiritual knowledge. Maheśvara is sometimes revered as abodhisattva. Hindu godShiva is derived from Maheśvara by Nathpanthis in 10 century AD and it is also an alternative name for this deity inHinduism.
The Sanskrit name Maheśvara is composed of two "Mahā" and "Īśvara". The "ā" of mahā and the "ī" of īśvara combine to form a sandhi, which becomes "e", forming the word "Maheśvara". Mahā means "Great" and Īśvara means "lord", hence the name Maheśvara means "the great lord".
Present Maheśvara is Buddhist by religion, and was reborn as aDeva, because of his merit of donating a cup of honey toKassapa Buddha in one of his previous lives. According toKarandavyuha Sutra, Maheśvara was born from the brow ofBodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.[1] According toBuddhist traditions, he helps good people, mostly who follow theBuddhist precepts and eat a vegetarian diet, and also punishes bad people for their evil deeds. He helps yogis doingKundalini Meditation.[2][3] He is bodhisattva of Tenth Bhumi.[citation needed] He is one of the important deity venerated inSri Lankan Buddhism. He is one of thetwenty four protective deities ofChinese Buddhism and of thesixteen dharmapalas ofTibetan Buddhism.[citation needed]
A popular story tells how Vajrapāni kills one Maheśvara, because of his evil deeds. The story occurs in several scriptures, most notably theSarvatathāgatatattvasaṅgraha and theVajrāpanyābhiṣeka Mahātantra. The story begins with the transformation of the bodhisattvaSamantabhadra intoVajrapāni byVairocana, the cosmic Buddha, receiving avajra and the name "Vajrāpani".Vairocana then requests Vajrapāni to generate his adamantine family in order to establish amandala. Vajrapāni refuses because Maheśvara "is deluding beings with his deceitful religious doctrines and engaging in all kinds of violent criminal conduct". Maheśvara and his entourage are dragged toMount Meru, and all but Maheśvara, who is too proud as ruler of the Three Worlds, submit. Vajrapāni and Maheśvara engage in a magical combat, which is won by Vajrapāni. Maheśvara's retinue become part of Vairocana's mandala, except for Maheśvara, who is killed, and his life transferred to another realm where he becomes aBuddha namedBhasmeśvaranirghoṣa, the "Soundless Lord of Ashes".[4]
Both the Chinese and Japanese mantras are phonetic transcriptions of verses originally composed in Sanskrit.
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