Eight Legions
The Eight Legions (Sanskrit: अष्टसेना, Aṣṭasenā; 八部衆) are a group of Buddhist deities whose function is to protect the Dharma. These beings are common among the audience addressed by the Buddha in Mahāyāna sūtras, making appearances in such scriptures as the Lotus Sutra and the Golden Light Sutra. They are also referred to as the "Eight Legions of Devas and Nāgas" (天龍八部).
| Translations of Eight Legions | |
|---|---|
| English | Eight Legions |
| Sanskrit | अष्टसेना Aṣṭasenā |
| Chinese | 八部眾; 天龍八部 (Pinyin: Bābùzhòng; Tiānlóngbābù) |
| Japanese | 八部衆; 天龍八部衆 (Rōmaji: Hachibushū; Tenryūhachibu) |
| Korean | 팔부신장; 천룡팔부 (RR: Palbusinjang; Cheonryongpalbu) |
| Tibetan | ལྷ་འདྲེ་སྡེ་བརྒྱད་ Wylie: lha srin sde brgyad |
| Tagalog | Astasena |
| Vietnamese | Bát Bộ Chúng; Thiên Long Bát Bộ |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
Asuras are also listed here as protectors of Dharma in the same sense as demigods are referred as "asuratvam" (holy) in Rigvedic "Hymn to all gods" where devas are related to "asuras" (thus, protectors of Dharma). Related word "ahura" in Zoroastrianism also means "god".
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