Sāgara (Dragon King)
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Sāgaranāgarāja
| Dragon King Sāgara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sanskrit | सागरनागराज Sāgaranāgarāja |
| Chinese | 娑竭羅龍王 娑伽羅龍王 沙羯羅龍王 (Pinyin: Suōjiéluó Lóngwáng or Suōjiāluó Lóngwáng or Shājiéluó Lóngwáng) |
| Japanese | 娑竭羅竜王 娑伽羅竜王 沙羯羅竜王 (romaji: Shagara Ō or Shakara Ō) |
| Korean | 사갈라용왕 (RR: Sagalla Yongwang) |
| Tagalog | Sagala |
| Tibetan | ཀླུའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་རྒྱ་མཚོ། Wylie: klu’i rgyal po rgya mtsho |
| Vietnamese | Sa Già La Long Vương Sa Kiệt La Long Vương |
| Information | |
| Venerated by | Mahāyāna |
| Attributes | Nāga King God of rain |
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Sāgara is a prominent nāgarāja or dragon king in Mahayana Buddhism. His name comes from the Sanskrit word meaning “ocean.”
Undersea Palace
Sāgara is listed among the Eight Great Dragon Kings and is one of sixteen that are spared from the assault of the garudas. His frequent inclusion of Sāgara among the several groups of protective deities in Buddhism is a direct reference to the nāgas and his role as one of their primary leaders. He is listed among the 28 guardians of the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara.
The Avataṃsaka Sūtra reveals that he is the nāga that presides over the world's supply of rain.
In East Asian art, he is often depicted with a reddish white complexion and assumes a posture of great authority. In his left hand he holds a snake or dragon and in his right hand he wields a sword. He wears a crown that consists of five snakes.
Ao Guang is his Eastern Asian folklore appearance. He is also associated of the term Azure Dragon.
Sāgara's palace lays at the bottom of the ocean and is the setting of several Mahayana sutras. It is 84,000 yojanas in length and width with an array of decorations that are seven-fold, including walls, banisters, jeweled nets and seven rows of trees. The palace is adorned with the seven treasures and is filled with the song of innumerable birds.[1]
