忉利天
Chinese[edit]
| phonetic | day; sky; heaven | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| simp. and trad. (忉利天) |
忉利 | 天 | |
Etymology[edit]
忉利 is typically understood to transcribe the numeral thirty-three from a historical Prakrit language; cf. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit त्रायस्त्रिंश (trāyastriṃśa); Pali tāvatiṁsa (“of the thirty-three [heavenly beings]”) from tayo m + tiṁsa; Gandhari 𐨟𐨿𐨪𐨩𐨟𐨿𐨪𐨁𐨭 (trayatriśa, “belonging to the Thirty-Three”);[1] Tocharian B tāpātriś; Tocharian A tapattriś; also modern Kashmiri تیٚیہِ ترٕٛہ (“thirty-three”). The first syllable may be compared to Ardhamagadhi Prakrit 𑀢𑀑 (tao, “three”). The /l/ reflex in 利 (MC lijH) for Indo-Aryan -tr-/-dr-, probably echoing Gandhari features attested in e.g. 𐨕𐨂𐨫𐨒𐨹 (culaǵa, “little”) < Sanskrit क्षुद्र (kṣudra), also existed in loanwords such as 彌勒 (MC mjie lok) < Tocharian A Metrak (Bailey, 1946; Ji, 1998v11).
Alternatively, compare Sanskrit त्रिदिव (tridiva, “third, highest heaven”), from त्रि (tri) + द्यु (dyu); Pali tidiva; often conflated with the Thirty-Three in Buddhist texts.
Pronunciation[edit]
Proper noun[edit]
忉利天
- (Buddhism) Trāyastriṃśa (a heavenly abode of the devas, second of the six heavens in the Realm of Desire)
- Synonym: 三十三天