Why the North, and Why Tao Wessuwan Stands Out
Among the four kings who are equal in rank, why does Tao Wessuwan stand out — in the scriptures and in the hearts of the faithful — and why is the North his direction? The answer hides several layers, from ancient roots to a meaning that speaks to people of every age.
One question has haunted us since the very beginning of this book.
If the Four Heavenly Kings number four in all — equal in greatness, alike in their duty of guarding the world — why do people know and venerate only Tao Wessuwan, as though the other three had faded from memory?
This is the chapter in which we will lay that riddle bare. And the answer comes in many layers, stacked one upon another until his prominence becomes all but inevitable.
The First Layer — A Heritage from the Ancient North
It begins with the question of why the North is his.
The answer sinks its roots deep into ancient belief from before the Buddha's time. As we told in the earlier part of this book, Kubera had been the deity guarding the North ever since the Brahmanic–Hindu tradition. When this belief made its way into Buddhist thought, his station as guardian of the North came with him.
Why the North Is Special
In the ancient belief of the Indian subcontinent, the North is the direction of the sacred Himalayas, the abode of sages and holy things, and it is also bound up with the treasure hidden within the mountains. The North is therefore the direction of sanctity and of wealth — fitting perfectly with his nature as the god of wealth.
The North, then, is not a direction he came by chance. It is a direction that accords profoundly with who he is.
The Second Layer — The Awe-Inspiring King of Yakshas
The next reason lies in "whom" he rules.
Among the four kinds of non-human beings under the Four Heavenly Kings — gandhabbas, kumbhaṇḍas, nāgas, and yakshas — the yakshas are the ones renowned, in people's feeling, for the greatest power and the greatest dread.
Because Tao Wessuwan is the king over the host of yakshas, he carries the image of "one who wields the power to subdue every peril" more clearly and more forcefully than the other Heavenly Kings. When people seek a refuge to protect and shield them from evil, the image of the King of Yakshas with mace in hand answers their need most directly of all.
The Third Layer — The God of Wealth Who Bestows Abundance
This may be the most powerful reason in the hearts of people today.
Tao Wessuwan is not a guardian alone; he is also the god of wealth who bestows abundance, just as it has clung to him ever since his days as Kubera.
Two Powers in One
The other Heavenly Kings are guardians and nothing more, but Tao Wessuwan holds two powers in one — both to shield from peril and to bestow riches. These two dimensions of meaning encompass the most basic longings of human beings in every age: safety and wealth.
When a single deity answers both needs at once, it is only natural that people should turn to him for refuge more than to any other.
The Fourth Layer — A Special Role in the Tipiṭaka
Another important reason, which ordinary people may not know, is that Tao Wessuwan plays a special role in the Tipiṭaka, greater than that of the other Heavenly Kings.
He is the one whose name is invoked time and again, and — most important of all — he is the one who offered to the Buddha the famed protective chant, for the Buddhist community to recite as a guard against peril from non-human beings. That chant is the "Āṭānāṭiya Paritta," which we still recite to this very day.
Paving the Way to the Next Part
It is precisely this role of offering the protective chant that raises Tao Wessuwan to a place of special prominence, as a deity in direct relationship with the Buddha and with the protection of the Buddhist community. We will tell this story in full detail in the part to come.
The Fifth Layer — A Form That Etches Itself in Memory
The final, undeniable reason is his powerful form.
A fierce face, a mighty frame, a mace in hand — such a form etches itself in memory and conveys protective power the moment it is seen. Compared with the other Heavenly Kings, whose forms may not stand out so vividly, the image of Tao Wessuwan is more easily remembered and more readily made into an object of veneration.
In an age when images hold power to communicate, this distinctive form makes him stand out all the more.
When Every Layer Is Stacked Together
When we lay all five layers one upon another — the heritage from the ancient North, his being the King of Yakshas, his being the god of wealth, his special role in the Tipiṭaka, and his form that etches itself in memory — we understand at once why Tao Wessuwan stands out above the other three.
It is not that he is greater by station, for by station all four are equal. It is rather that his many qualities converge so precisely that he becomes a deity who answers the faith, the needs, and the imagination of people most completely of all.
Before We Go On
We have now traveled through the whole part concerning his station in the cosmos. We understand where he abides, who he is among the gods, and why he stands out.
But there is one event we have referred to again and again throughout the chapters past, without yet telling it in full: the story of how Tao Wessuwan came before the Buddha and offered him a sacred protective chant.
How did that event come to pass? What is the history of that chant? And why does it matter so greatly? In the part to come, we will enter the very heart of the matter — the Āṭānāṭiya Sutta, the protective chant a deity offered to the Buddha.