The Āṭānāṭiya Sutta — A Protective Chant Offered to the Buddha
One night on Vulture Peak, the Four Heavenly Kings came with their armies to attend the Buddha, and Tao Wessuwan, leading the discourse, offered a sacred protective chant to shield the Buddhist community from malevolent beings. That chant is the Āṭānāṭiya Paritta, still recited to this day.
Imagine a certain night more than two thousand five hundred years ago.
Upon the summit of Vulture Peak, near the city of Rājagaha, the Buddha was dwelling in the stillness of the night. Suddenly, in the deep silence of the late hour, a brilliant radiance flooded the whole of the peak, as the Four Heavenly Kings, together with vast hosts of yakshas, gandhabbas, kumbhaṇḍas, and nāgas, descended to attend upon the Buddha.
This is the opening scene of one of the most important events concerning Tao Wessuwan, recorded in the Āṭānāṭiya Sutta, the thirty-second sutta of the Dīgha Nikāya.
When the Host of Heaven Came to Visit
The Four Heavenly Kings stationed their guardian forces all around, in each of the four directions, and then went in to attend upon the Buddha, paid him homage, and sat down to one side. The retinue of non-human beings each showed their reverence for the Buddha in their own way: some bowed, some exchanged greetings, some raised their palms together, and some remained silent and still.
And the one who addressed the Buddha on behalf of them all was Tao Wessuwan.
Why Tao Wessuwan?
As the commentaries explain, Tao Wessuwan was chosen to be the spokesman because he was on familiar and intimate terms with the Buddha, was skilled in conversation, and was very well trained. This is yet another piece of evidence underscoring his pre-eminence above the other Heavenly Kings.
The Concern Tao Wessuwan Laid Before the Buddha
Tao Wessuwan laid before the Buddha a matter that weighed upon him.
He said that among the yakshas and non-human beings there were both those who had faith in the Buddha and those who had no faith, and that those without faith were not few.
Why should this be so? Tao Wessuwan explained that it was because the Buddha taught the abstention from killing living beings, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, false speech, and drinking liquor and intoxicants, but a great many non-human beings could not abstain from these things. The Buddha's teaching was therefore not pleasing to them.
A Hidden Lesson
Notice that what displeases the non-humans is precisely the Five Precepts with which we are so familiar. This point carries a profound meaning — wickedness inherently finds no delight in morality, and those who are firmly established in the precepts are, by nature, targets of harassment by those without virtue.
Tao Wessuwan went on to say that many of the Buddha's disciples were fond of going to strive in the practice in lonely forests, in secluded places far from people, and that in such places there often dwelt powerful non-human beings who had no faith in the Buddha's teaching, so that harm and disturbance might befall those disciples engaged in their striving.
The Offering of the Protective Chant
It was out of this very concern that Tao Wessuwan begged the Buddha to accept the "Āṭānāṭiya Protection," or the Āṭānāṭiya protective chant, so that the fourfold Buddhist community — monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen — might use it in their chanting to protect themselves, that they might dwell at ease, in safety, and free from harassment by the non-human beings who wished them ill.
The Buddha accepted by his silence (that is, he remained silent, which is the customary way of expressing consent). When Tao Wessuwan knew that the Buddha had accepted, he then spoke the Āṭānāṭiya chant as his offering.
A Thought-Provoking Note from the Commentaries
Some have wondered why Tao Wessuwan should ask the Buddha to "learn" this chant, when the Buddha was already the All-Knowing One who comprehends all things. The commentaries explain that the Buddha had no need to learn anything further; rather, his listening to it was a way of opening the opportunity for this chant to receive endorsement and to hold a status worthy of reverence, for the lasting benefit of the Buddhist community.
What Lies Within the Chant
The Āṭānāṭiya chant that Tao Wessuwan spoke as his offering has several important components.
Its opening section is a passage of homage to the seven Buddhas of the past, beginning with Vipassī, Sikhī, Vessabhū, Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana, Kassapa, and Aṅgīrasa (that is, our own Buddha Gotama) — an expression of reverence toward all the Buddhas who have passed before.
The next section is a description of the Four Heavenly Kings, the direction each one governs, and their realms, including the various cities in Tao Wessuwan's northern quarter, and it also tells of the reason he gained the name "Wessuwan" from ruling over the city of Visāṇa, as we recounted in earlier chapters.
And the section that is most important in practical use is the naming of those yakshas who are the generals and commanders, who are to be called upon should a practitioner of the Dhamma be harassed by non-human beings; for if any non-human being should persist in tormenting one who chants this, that being would be punished and rejected among the whole host of yakshas.
Did You Know?
The name "Āṭānāṭiya" comes from the name of the city of Āṭānāṭā, a city within the domain of the Heavenly Kings, where the Four Heavenly Kings gathered together and jointly composed this chant. The sutta was therefore named after that city.
A Legacy Handed Down to Us
What is wondrous is that the chant Tao Wessuwan offered on that night did not fade away with the passing of time, but has continued to be chanted and recited down to the present day, under the name "the Āṭānāṭiya Paritta," one of the important paritta (protective chants) of Buddhism.
A Link to Thai Tradition
In Thailand, the Āṭānāṭiya Paritta is an important chant favored on auspicious occasions, especially in New Year merit-making ceremonies, where it is often chanted together with the Mahāsamaya Sutta and the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. Moreover, the version chanted in Thailand has expanded the opening passage of homage to the Buddhas of the past beyond the original Pali, reaching back as far as Dīpaṅkara Buddha — a portion that was composed and added in later times.
This chant usually closes with a beautiful passage of blessing, bestowing upon its hearers freedom from calamity, sorrow, and disease, and the wish that they may have long life, a radiant complexion, happiness, and strength — a lovely sending forth of good will to seal the chant of protection.
Before We Go On
The events of the Āṭānāṭiya Sutta show us Tao Wessuwan in a role both beautiful and most important — a deity who is concerned for the safety of the Buddhist community, and who dedicates his own protective chant to safeguard those who keep the precepts.
But this is only a single event. In truth, throughout the Tipiṭaka and the other scriptures, there are many more episodes that reveal how Tao Wessuwan was not merely a deity of great power, but a "person of faith" who believed deeply in the Dhamma — to the point that the scriptures say he attained the Dhamma and became a noble one.
Those stories — both his protection of monks engaged in their striving, and his care for practitioners of the Dhamma — will reveal to us a deeper view of who he is, in the next chapter.