Images of Taishaku-ten (Indra) in Japan

Indra or Taishaku-ten another important god of Hindu pantheon is also regarded as an important deity in Buddhism. In Buddhist mythology, he is always suservient to the Buddha, and to the early Buddhists he was subject to death. There is a popular belief in Buddhist faith that Indra or Sakra is the attendant deity of the Buddha. He is also represented in this manner in many paintings and sculptures. Indra, the king of gods, played a very important role in Buddhist pantheon. Though he is a subordinate god he is

136 virtually the protector of Buddhism. Thus in China and Japan he is considered as the guardian deity and he is included in the group of Juni-ten. He is depicted with three eyes and holding in his right hand a vajza which has a sharp point called Dokko, and in the left a cup. In Japan, the oldest example of the figure of Indra is to be found in the portable shrine called Tamamushi-no-Zushi which was made in the Asuka period and preserved in the Horyuji temple in the Nara prefecture. The Visnudharmottara describes the god as Sakra and narrates that he should wear a blue garment and have a golden complexion with the various ornaments on the body. His eyes are going obliquely on the forehead. On the right hands of Sakra there should be placed a lotus and an elephant goad. One of the left hands is to be placed on the back of Sachi and the second is to hold the thunderbolt. The thunderbolt symbolises his anger and by displaying anger he subdues the wicked. Airavata, the mount of the god is the symbolic of wealth and tusks of his mount are explained as the four very powerful sources of strength, e.g. energy, counsel, suzerainty and exertion. 2 Japanese texts, the Sonsho-Buccho-Shu-Yuga-Ho-Kigi, Shosetsu-Fudo-Ki and others describe the god as having different 1. VSD, Pt. III, p. 73. 2. Ibid.

137 iconographic traits, such as, the god should be red in complextion, have a tuft of hairs set up in such a manner that it looks like a crown. He holds a stick in his right hand, and his left hand with folded palm is held against the waist. The god is depicted in angry mood. Kango-kai-shichi-shu describes the complexion of the god as golden. Interestingly, the Visnudharmottara too mentions the colour of the god as golden. When Indra and Brahma appear in Japanese art outside Tantrism they usually are regarded as representatives of all the devas in general. In many cases the devas were carved on the model of the features of Indra and Brahma and the devas were given the attributes of Indra or Brahma. In this manner, Indra has had a widespread influence throughout the history of Buddhism in Japan. Examples of Taishaku-ten images in Japan are numerous. The image of the god in the Saidai-ji Temple at Nara is seen painted as one in the group of the Juni-ten. The deity is flanked by two attendants who seem to be tiny as compared to the feature of Taishaku-ten, The vehicle or mount Airavata is omitted in some cases while he is depicted as standing erect, but without any attendants. One fine example of Taishaku-ten is preserved in the To-ji temple, Kyoto. Here the deity is represented as

138 having one head, two arms and three eyes. He is riding gracefully on a white elephant. (Pl.XVII,Fig.4. ).