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| Translations of Eight Legions | |
|---|---|
| English | Eight Legions |
| Sanskrit | अष्टसेना Aṣṭasenā |
| Chinese | 八部眾; 天龍八部 (Pinyin:Bābùzhòng; Tiānlóngbābù) |
| Japanese | 八部衆; 天龍八部衆 (Rōmaji:Hachibushū; Tenryūhachibu) |
| Korean | 팔부신장; 천룡팔부 (RR:Palbusinjang; Cheonryongpalbu) |
| Tibetan | ལྷ་འདྲེ་སྡེ་བརྒྱད་ Wylie: lha srin sde brgyad |
| Tagalog | Astasena |
| Vietnamese | Bát Bộ Chúng; Thiên Long Bát Bộ |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
TheEight Legions (Sanskrit:अष्टसेना,Aṣṭasenā;八部衆) are a group ofBuddhist deities whose function is to protect theDharma. These beings are common among the audience addressed by theBuddha inMahāyāna sūtras, making appearances in such scriptures as theLotus Sutra and theGolden Light Sutra. They are also referred to as the "Eight Legions ofDevas andNāgas" (天龍八部).[1]
Asuras are also listed here as protectors of Dharma in the same sense asdemigods are referred as "asuratvam" (holy) inRigvedic "Hymn to all gods" where devas are related to "asuras" (thus, protectors of Dharma). Related word "ahura" inZoroastrianism also means "god".
The nameaṣṭasenā (अष्टसेना) is composed of two Sanskrit terms.
Aṣṭa (अष्ट) meanseight, with connections to the Latinocto and the Persianhašt(هشت).Senā (सेना) meanslegion, but can be renderedarmy,general,warrior and the like. Yet for the sake of accuracy contrary to the custom, each legion has a unique standard/banner and is composed just of several thousand foot soldiers. For that size of a military unit there is a fitting Sanskrit term "Dhvajinī", i.e. "body of troops bearing a standard". "Sena" is better to translate as "army" due to the fact that enormous Kuru and Pāṇḍava troops that gathered on the battlefield were called "kurupāṇḍava-sena" (one can't label two huge military forces fighting each other as just one legion), and more than that, all wars in India are patronized by the god of war Kārtikeya who probably plays both sides in any conflict if adversary combatants worship devas. His wife's name is Sena, a goddess, commonly known as Deva-Sena, the personified armament of the gods. There were plenty of legions in India serving various kings and lords, but all military forces as a whole could be figuratively named an army, i.e. "Sena" - the Shakti through which the god of war imposed his will.
The Eight Legions have their origins in ancient India as gods who belong to several domains. Many of these gods are among those spirits who are found in the lower heavens ofCāturmahārājakāyika and the Asura realm, and as such largely consist of nature spirits. While the list of figures within this category vary, the most common are as follows:
AtKōfuku-ji inNara, Japan, there is a famous group of statues that represent the Eight Legions. Some of these figures differ from the common list. Their names in Japanese are as follows:
There is another list of eight beings, theHachibukikishū (八部鬼衆), who belong to an overlapping, but distinct category.
| Buddhas 如来部 (Nyorai-bu) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Bodhisattvas 菩薩部 (Bosatsu-bu) | ||
| Wisdom Kings 明王部 (Myōō-bu) | ||
| Heavenly deities 天部 (Ten-bu) |
| |
| Circumstantial appearances 垂迹身部 (Suijakushin-bu) | ||
| Religious masters 高僧・祖師部 (Kōsō・Soshi-bu) | ||
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