Personalities of the Buddhist Suttas

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Sakka, devānaṃ Indo

DPPN (edited, primarily to remove footnotes for the casuao reader): Sakka.– Almost always spoken of as "devānaṃ indo," chief (or king) of the devas. The SN 1.11.13 contains a list of his names. He is also spoken f as a yakkha.

Sakka rules over Tāvatiṃsa devaloka, the lowest heaven but one of the lower plane. His palace is Vejayanta and his chariot bears the same name. Though king of the Tāvatiṃsa devas, he is no absolute monarch. He is imagined rather in the likeness of a chieftain of the Kosala clan. The devas meet and deliberate in the Sudhammā-sabhā and Sakka consults with them rather than issues them commands. On such occasions, the Four Regent Devā are present in the assembly with their followers of the Cātummahārājika world. Among the Tāvatiṃsa devas, Sakka is more or less he first among equals, yet he surpasses his companions in ten things: length of life, beauty, happiness, renown, power; and in the degree of his five sense experiences: sight, hearing, smelling, taste, and touch.¹

In the SN 1.11.13 the Buddha gives seven rules of conduct, which rules Sakka carried out as a human being, thus attaining to his celestial sovereignty. When the devas fight the Asurā they do so under the banner and orders of Sakka. For details of Sakka's conquest of the Asurā. Pajāpati, Varuṇa and Isāna are also mentioned as having been associated with him in supreme command.¹³

In the Saṃyuttanikāya a whole Saṃyutta — one of the shortest, consisting of twenty-five short suttas — is devoted to Sakka. In the first and second suttas Sakka praises energy (viriya); in the third he denounces timidity; in the fourth he shows forbearance to his enemy; in the fifth he advocates the conquest of anger by kindness; in the sixth kindness to animals; in the seventh he denounces trickery, even towards enemies; and in the ninth he teaches courtesy and honour towards the wise. In the eleventh are described the seven life long habits which raised him to his present eminent position; the twelve and thirteen repeat this and explain his titles. In the fourteenth Sakka explains how new gods, who outshine the old ones, do so because they have observed the Buddha's teaching. In the fifteenth he describes as the most beautiful spot that where Arahants dwell; in the sixteenth he praises gifts to the Order; in the seventeenth he praises the Buddha, but is told by Sahampati that he has selected the wrong attributes for praise. In suttas eighteen to twenty he says that whereas brahmins and nobles on earth and the gods of the Cātummahārājika world and of Tāvatiṃsa worship him, he himself worships good men and Arahants. Numbers twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-four, and twenty-five are against anger, and twenty-three is against deceit.

These and other passages show that Sakka was considered by the early Buddhists as a god of high character, kindly and just, but not perfect, and not very intelligent. His imperfections are numerous: in spite of his very great age, he is still subject to death and rebirth; as an example of this, it is mentioned that Sunetta had thirty-five times been reborn as Sakka, a statement confirmed by the Buddha. Sakka is not free from the three deadly evils — lust, ill-will, delusion; nor is he free from anxiety. He is timid, given to panic, to fright, to running away.²¹

In the Sakkapañha Sutta, Sakka is said to have visited the Buddha at Vediya mountain in Ambasaṇḍā and to have asked him a series of questions. He sends Pañcasikha with his lute (vinā) to play and sing to the Buddha and to obtain permission for him (Sakka) to visit him and question him. The Buddha says to himself that Sakka, for a long time past, has led a pure life, and gives him permission to question him on any subject. It is stated in the course of the sutta that it was not the first time that Sakka had approached the Buddha for the same purpose. He had gone to him at the Salaḷāgāra in Sāvatthi, but found him in meditation, with Bhuñjatī, wife of Vessavaṇa, waiting on him. He therefore left with a request to Bhuñjatī to greet the Buddha in his name. He also declares that he has become a Stream-winner and has earned for himself the right to be reborn eventually in the Akaniṭṭhā world, whence he will pass entirely away.

The Commentary says that Sakka was constantly seeing the Buddha and was the most zealous of the devas in the discharge of his duties to the Buddhist religion (sāsana). However, this visit to the Buddha at Vediya mountain had a special purpose. Sakka saw signs that his life was drawing to an end and was frightened by this knowledge. He therefore went to the Buddha to seek his help. It adds that, as Sakka sat listening to the Buddha, he died in his old life and was reborn a new and young Sakka; only Sakka himself and the Buddha was aware of what had happened. The Commentary continues that Sakka became one going upwards in the stream of life (uddhaṃ sota), treading the path of a Non-returner (anāgāmi). As such he will live in Avihā for one thousand world-cycles, in Atappā for two thousand, in Sudassanā for four thousand, and will end in the Akaniṭṭhā world, after having enjoyed life in the Brahma worlds for thirty-one thousand world-cycles.

An account of another interview which Sakka had with the Buddha is given in the Cūḷataṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta. There the question arises regarding the extirpation of cravings. Sakka accepts the Buddha's answer and leaves him. Anxious to discover whether Sakka has understood the Buddha's teaching, Moggallāna visits Sakka and questions him. Sakka evades the questions and shows Moggallāna the glories of his Vejayanta palace. Moggallāna then frightens him by a display of psychic power, and Sakka repeats to him, word for word, the Buddha's answer. Moggallāna departs satisfied, and Sakka tells his handmaidens that Moggallāna is a "fellow of his" in the higher life, meaning, probably, that he himself is a Stream-winner and therefore a kinsman of the Arahant.

The later books contain a good deal of additional information regarding Sakka. His city extends for one thousand leagues, and its golden streets are sixty leagues long; his palace Vejayanta is one thousand leagues high; the Sudhammā hall covers five hundred leagues, his throne of yellow marble (Paṇḍukambala-silāsana) is sixty leagues in extent, his white umbrella with its golden wreath is five leagues in circumference, and he himself is accompanied by a glorious array of twenty-five million nymphs. Other features of his heaven are the Pāricchattaka-tree, the Nandā-pokkharaṇī and the Cittalatāvana. His body is three quarters of a league (three gāvuta) in height; his chief conveyance is the marvellous elephant Erāvaṇa, but he goes to war in the Vejayanta chariot. Reference is often made to his throne, the Paṇḍukambalasilāsana composed of yellow stone. It grows hot when Sakka's life draws towards its end; or his merit is exhausted; or when some mighty being prays; or, again, through the efficacy of virtue in recluses or brahmins or other beings, full of potency.

Sakka's devotion to the Buddha and his religion is proverbial. When the Bodhisatta cut off his hair and threw it into the sky, Sakka took it and deposited it in the Cūḷāmaṇi-cetiya. He was present near the Bodhi tree, blowing his Vijayuttara Saṅkha when Māra arrived to prevent the Buddha from reaching Enlightenment. When the Buddha accepted Bimbisāra's invitation to dine in his palace, Sakka, in the guise of a young man, preceded the Buddha and his monks along the street to the palace, singing the Buddha's praises. When the Buddha performed his Twin Miracle at the foot of the Gandamba, it was Sakka who built for him a pavilion, and gave orders to the gods of the Wind and the Sun to uproot the pavilions of the heretics and cause them great discomfort. When the Buddha returned to Saṅkassa from Tāvatiṃsa, to where he went after performing the Twin Miracle, Sakka created three ladders — of gold, of silver, and of jewels respectively — for the Buddha and his retinue.

Sakka was present at Vesāli when the Buddha visited that city in order to rid it of its plagues. His presence drove away the evil spirits, and the Buddha's task was thus made easier. When the Buddha and his monks wished to journey one hundred leagues, to visit Cūḷasubhaddā at Uggapura, Sakka, with the aid of Vissakamma, provided them with pavilions (kūṭāgāra) in which they might travel by air. Once, when the ponds in Jetavana were quite dry, the Buddha wished to bathe and Sakka immediately caused rain to fall and the ponds were filled.

In Sakka's aspect as Vajirapāṇi he protected the Buddha from the insults of those who came to question him. During the Buddha's last illness, Sakka ministered to him, performing the most menial tasks, such as carrying the vessel of excrement. He was present at the Buddha's death, and uttered, in verse, a simple lament, very different from the studied verses ascribed to Brahmā. At the distribution, by Doṇa, of the Buddha's relics, Sakka saw Doṇa hide the Buddha's right tooth in his turban. Realising that Doṇa was incapable of rendering adequate honour to the relic, Sakka took the relic and deposited it in the Cūḷāmaṇi-cetiya. And when Ajātasattu was making arrangements to deposit his share of the relics, Sakka gave orders to Vissakamma to set up a vālasaṅghātayanta for their protection.

Sakka did all in his power to help followers of the Buddha in their strivings for the attainment of the goal, as in the case of Paṇḍitasāmaṇera, when he sent the Four Regent Gods to drive away the birds, made the Moon deity shroud the moon, and himself stood guard at the door of Paṇḍita's cell, lest he should be disturbed. Often, when a monk achieved his ambition, Sakka was there to express his joy and do him honour. See, e.g., the story of Mahāphussadeva Thera. He was ready to help, not only monks and nuns, but also eminent laymen, such as Jotika for whom he built a palace of wondrous splendour, and provided it with every luxury. Sakka was always ready to come to the rescue of the good when in distress — e.g., in the case of Cakkhupāla Thera when he became blind; Sakka led him by the hand and took him to Sāvatthi. He loved to test the goodness of men, as in the case of the leper Suppabuddha, to see if their faith was genuine.

The Jātaka stories contains several stories of his helping holy men by providing them with hermitages, etc. — e.g., Kuddāla paṇḍita, Hatthipāla, Ayoghara, Jotipāla (Sarabhaṅga), Sutasoma, Dukūlaka, Pārikā, and Vessantara. Sometimes, when he found that ascetics were not diligently practising their duties, he would frighten them — e.g., in the Vighāsāda Jātaka and Somadatta Jātaka. The Aṅguttaranikāya contains a story of Sakka punishing a deva called Suppatiṭṭha, who lived in a banyan tree, because he failed to keep the rukkha-dhamma.

Sakka appears as the guardian of moral law in the world. When wickedness is rampant among men, or kings become unrighteous, he appears among them to frighten them so that they may do good instead evil. He is on the side of the good against the wicked, and often helps them to realise their goal. Instances of this are seen in the Ambacora, Ayakūṭa, Bilārakosiya, Cūḷadhanuggaha, Kaccāni, Kāma, Kāmanīta, Keḷisīla, Kharaputta, Kumbha, Mahākaṇha, Maṇicora, Sarabhamiga, Sarabhaṅga, Sudhābhojana, Udaya, Vaka, and Vijjādhara Jātaka stories. Sakka patronised good men; some of the more eminent he invited to his heaven, sending his charioteer Mātali to fetch them, and he showed them all honour — e.g., Guttila, Mandhātu, Sādhina, and Nimi; others he rewarded suitably — see, e.g., the Uraga Jātaka.

The lesser gods consulted Sakka in their difficulties and problems, e.g., in the case of the deity of Anāthapiṇḍika's fourth gateway, who incurred the displeasure of Anāthapiṇḍika by advising him to refrain from too much generosity towards the Buddha and his monks. Sakka has also to deal with disputes arising among the devas themselves. On several occasions Sakka helped the Bodhisatta in the practice of his Perfections — e.g., as King Sivi, Temiya, Nimi and Vessantara, also in his birth as a hare; in this last story, the Sasapaṇḍita Jātaka, Sakka paints the picture of a hare on the moon to commemorate the Bodhisatta's sacrifice.

Sakka sometimes answers the prayers of good and barren women and gives them sons — e.g., Sumedhā (s.v. Suruci Jātaka), Sīlavatī, Candādevī (s.v. Mūgapakkha Jātaka). Mention is also made of other boons granted by Sakka to various persons. Thus in the Mahāsuva Jātaka he visited the parrot who clung to the dead stump of a tree through gratitude, and granted him the boon that the tree should once more become fruitful. He granted four boons to Kaṇha, that he might be calm, bear no malice or hatred against his neighbour, feel no greed for others' glory, and no lust towards his neighbour. To Akitti he granted several boons, the last of which was that he should have no more visits from Sakka! When Sivi became blind, Sakka gave him two eyes; these were not natural eyes, but the eyes of Truth, Absolute and Perfect (sacca-pāramī cakkhuṇī). Sakka confesses that he has not the power of restoring sight; it was the virtue of Sivi himself which had that power. When Sīlavatī wished for a boon, Sakka, took her to heaven, where he kept her for seven days; then he granted that she should have two sons, one wise and ugly and the other a fool and handsome. He also presented her with a piece of kusa grass, a heavenly robe, a piece of sandalwood, the flower of the Pāricchattaka tree and a Kokanda lute. All this passed into the possession of Kusa, and, later, Sakka gave him the Verocana jewel. He gave Phusatī, mother of Vessantara, ten boons and to Vessantara himself he gave eight.

In the Sarabhaṅga Jātaka ⁶¹ mention is made of four daughters of Sakka — Āsā, Saddhā, Hirī, and Sirī. His wife, Sujā, accompanied him everywhere on his travels, even into the world of men, because that was the boon she had asked for on her marriage to him. Vessavaṇa was Sakka's special friend, and when one Vessavaṇa died, it was Sakka's duty to appoint a successor. Mātali (q.v.) is Sakka's charioteer and constant companion. Vissakamma is his "handy man." Sakka has twenty-five million handmaids and five hundred dove-footed nymphs (kakuṭa-pādiniyo), famed for their beauty. It was the sight of these that tempted the Buddha's step-brother, Nanda, to give up thoughts of Janapadakalyāṇī Nandā. Sakka's special weapon is the Vajirāvudha and his special drum the Ālambara His voice is sweet, like the tintinnabulation of golden bells.

It is Sakka's special duty to protect the religion of the Buddha in Sri Lanka. As the Buddha lay dying, he enjoined on Sakka the task of looking after Vijaya and his successors. This duty Sakka, in turn, entrusted to the god Uppalavaṇṇa. Sakka informed Mahinda of the right moment for his visit to Sri Lanka. When Devānampiyatissa wished for relics to place in the Thūpārāma Thūpa, Sumana sāmaṇera visited Sakka and obtained from him the right collar bone of the Buddha, which Sakka had placed in the Cūḷāmaṇi-cetiya. Again, when Duṭṭhagāmaṇī was in need of building materials for the Mahā Thūpa, it was Sakka who supplied them. On the occasion of the enshrining of the relics in the Mahā Thūpa, Sakka gave orders to Vissakamma to decorate the whole of Sri Lanka. He also provided the throne and casket of gold for the relics brought from the Nāgā world by Soṇuttara and was himself present at the festival, blowing his conch shell.

Other world-systems (cakkavāḷa) have also their Sakka, and in one place mention is made of many thousands of Sakkas.

It is evident from the foregoing account that, as Rhys Davids suggests, Sakka and Indra are independent conceptions. None of the personal characteristics of Sakka resemble those of Indra. Some epithets are identical but are evidently borrowed, though they are differently explained. The conception of the popular god which appealed to a more barbarous age and to the clans fighting their way into a new country, seems to have been softened and refined in order to meet the ideals of a more cultured and peaceful civilization. The old name no longer fitted the new god, and, as time went on, Sakka came to be regarded as an entirely separate god.