The City of Āḷakamandā and the Army of Yaksha Attendants
A great king has a city and an army to match his glory. The celestial city of Āḷakamandā in the North is his resplendent abode, and his vast army of yakshas is the power that makes Tao Wessuwan feared throughout the three worlds.
A great king always has two things to attend his glory — a flourishing city, and a mighty army.
Tao Wessuwan, as King of Yakshas and guardian deity of the North, possesses both of these in a measure worthy of his rank; and both his city and his army are reckoned among the most magnificent and resplendent of all the gods.
Let us come and visit his realm.
Āḷakamandā — the Celestial City of the North
The abode of Tao Wessuwan is a renowned celestial city by the name of Āḷakamandā (in the Sanskrit tradition called Alakā, or Alakāpurī).
This city lies to the North — in Hindu belief, high upon the towering Himalayas, near Mount Kailash — and it is described in the ancient literature as beautiful as a heaven brought down to earth.
An Image of the Celestial City
The poets of old described the city of Āḷakamandā as a city whose palaces and royal halls were built of glittering gems and jewels, with lotus ponds where the lotuses bloom in full glory and never wither, and trees that flower and bear fruit for all time and never fall. The people of the city are all full of happiness, free of aging, sickness, and the sorrows of grief — a land where beauty endures forever.
It is this very splendor of Āḷakamandā that bears witness to the merit, the spiritual perfection, and the boundless celestial wealth of Tao Wessuwan, as god of wealth and owner of all riches.
King of the Yakshas in Particular
In the earlier chapters we spoke of the Four Heavenly Kings who guard the four directions, each one sovereign over a different kind of non-human being; and here is the very point that makes Tao Wessuwan unique.
While the other Heavenly Kings rule over gandhabbas, kumbhaṇḍas, and nāgas respectively, Tao Wessuwan is lord over the host of yakshas in particular.
To Be Clear
Among all four kinds of non-human beings under the rule of the Four Heavenly Kings, the "yaksha" is the kind most renowned for power and for awe-inspiring might. That Tao Wessuwan is king over the host of yakshas therefore gives him, in the feeling of the people, the image of one who is mighty and powerful in protecting and subduing dangers, more so than the other Heavenly Kings.
A Vast Army of Yakshas
Under the command of Tao Wessuwan are yaksha attendants beyond all counting.
These yakshas are of many ranks and stations, from the yakshas who are generals and commanders, mighty and possessed of virtue, down to the ordinary yaksha attendants. They are spread out everywhere — in the celestial city, among the forests and mountains, in great trees, rivers, and many other places — serving as both the armed force and the eyes and ears of Tao Wessuwan.
It is with this vast army of yakshas that his command carries its power far and wide, and that ghosts, demons, and ill-intentioned non-human beings must dread his majesty.
A Point of Interest
In the Buddhist scriptures, the names of several great yaksha lords are mentioned who stand under the rule of, or are connected with, Tao Wessuwan. Some of these yakshas are of high virtue, devoted to the Triple Gem, and keep watch to protect and guard those who keep the precepts — they are not the evil yakshas that ordinary people imagine.
When City and Army Unite as Majesty
When we bring the whole image together, we come to see Tao Wessuwan in a more complete dimension.
He is not merely a stern-faced image set upon an altar, but a king who reigns over a glorious celestial city, who commands a mighty army of yakshas, and whose power spreads far and wide throughout the North of the cosmos. It is this whole greatness that stands behind the protective power in which people place their faith and their reliance.
And this greatness will also play a most important part in a certain event in the time of the Buddha, when he brought his whole army and all his majesty to offer as a homage to the Buddha, to protect and guard the Buddhist teaching and the Buddhist community.
Paving the Way to the Next Chapter
The story of Tao Wessuwan's offering of a protective chant to the Lord Buddha, known as the "Āṭānāṭiya Sutta," is one of the most important events concerning him, which we will tell in detail in the parts to come.
Before We Go On
We have now arrived at the close of the part concerning his origins and legend. We have come to know his roots under the name Kubera, the meaning of his name, his celestial city, and his army of yaksha attendants.
But all of this is still only to know him as one "character." The deeper question is: where, then, does he stand within the vast cosmos? Where is the city of Āḷakamandā situated in the plan of the three worlds? And why is the North his own?
In the next part, we will step back to look at the great picture of the cosmos according to Buddhist thought, beginning at the center of all things — Mount Sumeru and the first heaven, named Cāturmahārājika, the dwelling place of Tao Wessuwan and the guardian deities.