astronomy

Trāyastriṃśa

Trāyastriṃśa is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Trāyastriṃśa rather than just read about it. In short: Trāyastriṃśa (Sanskrit: त्रायस्त्रिंश, pronounced [t̪ɾɑː.jɐs̪.t̪ɾĩ.ɕɐ], romanized: trāyastriṃśa; Pali: tāvatiṁsa; lit. 'of the thirty-three [heavenly beings]') is a celestial realm of the devas in Buddhist cosmology and constitutes the second of the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). The term is a Sanskrit adjectival form derived from the numeral त्रयस्त्रिंशत् (trayastriṃśat), meaning "thirty-three", a re…

Key takeaways

Trāyastriṃśa belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Trāyastriṃśa to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Trāyastriṃśa from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Trāyastriṃśa (Sanskrit: त्रायस्त्रिंश, pronounced [t̪ɾɑː.jɐs̪.t̪ɾĩ.ɕɐ], romanized: trāyastriṃśa; Pali: tāvatiṁsa; lit. 'of the thirty-three [heavenly beings]') is a celestial realm of the devas in Buddhist cosmology and constitutes the second of the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). The term is a Sanskrit adjectival form derived from the numeral त्रयस्त्रिंशत् (trayastriṃśat), meaning "thirty-three", a reference to the pantheon of devas who preside over it, modeled after the thirty-three Vedic deities. It is ruled by Śakra.

Description The Trāyastriṃśa heaven is the second of the heavens of the Kāmadhātu, just above Catumaharajika or the realm of the Four Heavenly Kings, and is the highest of the heavens that maintains a physical connection with the rest of the world. Trāyastriṃśa is located on the peak of Sumeru, the central mountain of the world, at a height of 80 yojanas; the total area of the heaven is 80 yojanas square. This heaven is therefore comparable to the Greek Mount Olympus in some respects. According to Vasubandhu, inhabitants of Trāyastriṃśa are each half a krośa tall (about 1500 feet) and live for 1000 years, of which each day is equivalent to 100 years of our world: that is, for a total of 36 million of our years. Since Trāyastriṃśa is physically connected to the world through Sumeru, unlike the heavens above it, the Trāyastriṃśa devas are unable to avoid being entangled in worldly affairs. In particular, they frequently find themselves in quarrels with the asuras, a separate set of divine beings who were expelled from Trāyastriṃśa and who now dwell at the foot of Sumeru, plotting for ways to recover their lost kingdom. There is, however, marriage between the devas and the asuras just as there is between the Æsir and the jötnar in Norse mythology. The chief of the Trāyastriṃśa devas is Śakra (Pāli: Sakka), also known as Indra. Other Trāyastriṃśa devas who are frequently mentioned are Viśvakarman (Vissakamma), the devas' craftsman and builder; Mātali, who drives Śakra's chariot; and Sujā, Śakra's wife and daughter of the Asura chief Vemacitrin (Vepacitti). The Trāyastriṃśa heaven appears several times in Buddhist stories, in which either the Buddha ascends to Trāyastriṃśa, or (more often) deities from Trāyastriṃśa descend to meet the Buddha. The Buddha's mother, Maya, was reborn in the Tusita Heaven, and came down to visit Trāyastriṃśa heaven where her son taught her the abhidharma. The "thirty-three" in the name of the heaven is not an enumeration of the gods who live there (there are far more) but a general term inherited from Vedic mythology, implying "the whole pantheon of gods". In Theravada Buddhist legends, there were 33 humans in Sakka's original group (who made enough merit to become devas atop Mount Sineru). In Buddhism, there are "Yāmā devāḥ", "Tushitānāṃ", "Nirmāṇaratayaḥ devāḥ", and "Paranirmita-vaśavartinaḥ devāḥ" above Trāyastriṃśa and "Catumaharajika" below. They are called the six heavens together with Śakro devānām (Śakra). More heaven "Sunirmita devāḥ" is sometimes added to these depending on sūtras.

Levels

In Mahayana literature, Trāyastriṃśa is composed of thirty-three levels. These are enumerated in the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna Sūtra. The original Sanskrit names occasionally vary between extant Sanskrit manuscripts and Chinese texts.

Sudharmanivāsinī (善法堂天) Tuṅganivāsinī (山峯天) Śikharanivāsinī (山頂天) Sudarśananivāsinī (善見城天) Rasthanivāsinī (鉢私地天) Koṭaranivāsinī (倶吒天) Caitrarathanivāsinī (雑殿天) Nandananivāsinī (歓喜園天) Vaibhrājanivāsinī (光明天) Pāriyātrakanivāsinī (波利耶多天) Āmiśrataṭanivāsinī (離険岸天) Kuñjarataṭanivāsinī (谷崖岸天) Maṇigarbhānivāsinī (摩尼蔵天) Āvartacarā (旋行天) Tapanīyagṛhā (金殿天) Mālācchāyā (鬘影天) Nimnonnatācāriṇī (柔軟天) Nānābhaktavicitrāśarīrā (雑荘厳天) Yogavahā (如意天) Sūkṣmacarā (微細行天) Saṃhṛṣṭagītadhvanyabhiratā (歌音喜楽天) Tejomālinī (威徳輪天) Candrāyatanacarā / Candrāyaṇacarā (月行天) Yamanaśālā (閻摩那娑羅天) Nimeṣonmeṣagatī (速行天) Prabalecchācchāyāśarīrā / Pramāṇecchāśarīrā / Pavanecchācchāyā / Pravaṇecchāśarīreṣu (影照天) Maṇicīrā / Śalecarāḥ (智慧行天) Nikāyasabhāginī (衆分天) Maṇḍalanivāsinī / Maṇḍalaniratā (曼陀羅天) Utkarṣacārinī / Autkarṣa (上行天) Tejomukhā (威徳顔天) Tejojālinī / Tejohvālāmālinī (威徳燄輪光天) Prakīrṇakā (清浄天)

Residents Below is a list of the devas who are said to dwell here:

Śakra Śakra's wives

Sujā Śakra's sons

Suvira Susīma Śakra's daughters

Āśā (Pali: Āsā) (Hope) Śraddhā (Pali: Saddhā) (Faith) Śrī (Pali: Sirī) (Glory) Hrī (Pali: Hirī) (Modesty) Others

Viśvakarmā – the architect of the devas Prajāpati Varuṇa Īśāna Mātali – Śakra's charioteer Pañcaśikha Suvīra Susīma Jālinī Airāvata – Śakra's elephant mount Pārileyyaka – an elephant that was reborn in heaven after serving the Buddha

Origins In Buddhism, Tāvatiṁsa (Pali) has an interesting origin story. Many eras ago, before the Historical Buddha, there lived a man named Magha. He was a village leader and gathered 33 companions to help him do good merit, such as build rest houses, plant trees, etc. Naturally, him and his companions died due to old age or disease. Because of their good deeds, Magha was reborn as Sakka, the Devaraja (King of Devas) of Tāvatiṁsa, and his 33 companions were reborn as the Thirty-Three Great Gods of Tāvatiṁsa. When Sakka and his Thirty-Three gods were reborn into Tāvatiṁsa, the Asuras (which were the ones who lived in the Heaven at the time) prepared a giant feast with lots of Sura. Sakka told his 33 Gods to refuse, because they would be heavily intoxicated after drinking it. When the feast was done, the Asuras were heavily intoxicated, just like Sakka said. Him and his 33 Gods made the decision to throw the Asuras off of Sumeru due to them being a danger to the sanctity and morality of the heaven. The Asuras woke up at the lower point of Sumeru, and felt betrayed. They made a vow to never drink Sura again, which explains their name. (lit. "not-sura") They constantly attempt to get back their home through force, climbing up Sumeru and fighting the Devas of both Catumaharajika (first heaven) and Tāvatiṁsa (second heaven).

See also Svarga Thirty-three gods, the Hindu equivalent

References

External links Media related to Trāyastriṃśa heaven at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Trāyastriṃśa

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Trāyastriṃśa claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Trāyastriṃśa before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Trāyastriṃśa ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Trāyastriṃśa

In research: Trāyastriṃśa appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Trāyastriṃśa in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Trāyastriṃśa is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buddhist cosmology, Indra, Sanskrit words and phrases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Trāyastriṃśa outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Trāyastriṃśa in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Trāyastriṃśa means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Trāyastriṃśa out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Trāyastriṃśa in simple terms?

Why does Trāyastriṃśa matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Trāyastriṃśa?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Trāyastriṃśa.