Rupayaksha, Rupa-yaksha, Rūpayakṣa: 1 definition
Introduction:
Rupayaksha means something in Jainism, Prakrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
The Sanskrit term Rūpayakṣa can be transliterated into English as Rupayaksa or Rupayaksha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Jainism1) Rūpayakṣa (रूपयक्ष) is the name of a Yakṣa mentioned in the Tattvārtha-bhāṣya amongst a list of thirteen. The Tattvārtha-bhāṣya is a commentary on the Tattvārtha-sūtra, an ancient and foundational Jain text written in the 2nd century by Umāsvāti. It contains philosophy accepted as authoritative by both the Digambara and the Śvetāmbara sects of Jainism.
2) Rūpayakṣa (रूपयक्ष) refers to a class of yakṣa deities according to Śvetāmbara while the Digambara tradition does not reccognize this class. The yakṣas refer to a category of vyantaras gods which represents one of the four classes of celestial beings (devas). The assigned color of yakṣas is black and their caitya-vṛkṣa (sacred tree) is the “banyan tree” (vaṭa).
The deities such as the Rūpayakṣas are defined in ancient Jain cosmological texts such as the Saṃgrahaṇīratna in the Śvetāmbara tradition or the Tiloyapaṇṇati by Yativṛṣabha (5th century) in the Digambara tradition.
Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Yaksha, Rupa.
Full-text: Yaksha.
Relevant text
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