Eight Great Dragon Kings

Eight Great Dragon Kings
Eight Great Dragon Kings
Sanskrit	Sanskrit: अष्टनागराजाः, romanized: aṣṭa-nāga-rājah
Chinese	八大龍王 (Bādà lóngwáng)
Japanese	八大龍王 (Hachidai Ryūō)
Korean	팔대룡왕 (paldaelyongwang)
Tibetan	Standard Tibetan: ཀླུའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་བརྒྱད་, romanized: klu'i rgyal po chen po brgyad

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The Eight Great Dragon Kings is a group of dragons in the Lotus Sutra.

List of Dragon Kings

This is the main order of the dragon kings

Number	Name	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji	Sanskrit (Devanagari)	Sanskrit (romanized)	Translation	Notes
1	Ānanda	難陀	なんだ	Nanda	आनंद	Ānanda	Joy	Nanda and Upananda are brother dragon kings who once fought against Shāgara. They are mentioned in the 16th chapter of the Amoghapasha Sutra.
2	Upananda	跋難陀	ばつなんだ	Batsunanda	उपनन्द	Upananda	Minor Joy	Nanda’s younger brother. He protected the Kingdom of Magadha and attended lectures by the Buddha. Made it rain for the birth of the Buddha
3	Shāgara	娑伽羅	しゃがら	Shagara	सागर	Sāgara	Ocean	The dragon king of the sea palace. He is the father of the Dragon Princess Longnü. A daughter named Seiryū Gongen [ja] followed Kukai back from China
4	Vasuki	和修吉	わしゅきつ	Washikitsu	वासुकि	Vāsuki	Treasure	Called Nine Headed Dragon King (九頭龍王, Kusu Ryūō) in Japan. Represents devotion to Buddhist principles.Also called Houyu (宝有) or Houshuu (宝称) literal translations of his name or Many-headed Dragon King (多頭龍王, Tatō Ryūō) Guarder Mount Sumeru
5	Takshaka	德叉迦	とくしゃか	Tokushaka	तक्षक	Takṣaka	Many-tongued, poisonous to the eye.	He appears in the Mahabharata. Father of Shichimen Tennyo [ja]
6	Anavatapta	阿那婆達多	あなばだった	Anabadatta	अनवतप्त	Anavatapta	Cool and Untroubled	Guardian of the mythological lake Anavatapta in the Himalayas. Also known as Anokudātsu (阿耨達)
7	Manasvin	摩那斯	まなし	Manashi	मनस्विन	Manasvin	Great Body	He stopped Asura’s seawater attacks on Mount Sumeru.
8	Utpalaka	優鉢羅	うはつら	Uhatsura	उत्पल	Utpalaka	Blue Lotus

Rituals for the Dragon Kings

The Japanese Shingon sect performed a rainmaking ritual called shōugyōhō [ja]. Some sources say It was first performed by Kūkai in the year 824 at Shinsen'en. The first well documented case was in 875, then a second time in 891. After that people started doing the ritual regularly.

The shōugyōhō ritual used two Dragon King mandalas.

The Great Mandala was dedicated to the Eight Dragon Kings. It had the Buddha in the center, with the Eight Dragon Kings around him. There were ten thousand lesser dragon kings too. People hung the Great Mandala on a wall.

The other Mandala had only five dragon kings. It came from a story in the Collected Dhāraṇī Sūtras [zh]. It was called a spread-out mandala (敷曼荼羅, shiki mandara). People put the lesser mandala on the floor.

Related pages

Demon King of the Sixth Heaven

References

↑ "Hachi Dai Ryu O (Eight Great Dragon Kings)".
↑ "Hundred Dragons". www.buddhatoothrelictemple.org.sg. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
↑ "Eight great dragon kings - Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia". www.chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
1 2 Tsondon, Ngakpa Konchok Dorje (2024-05-03). "The Eight Great Dragon Kings". Medium. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
↑ www.wisdomlib.org (2009-04-12). "Upananda: 13 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
↑ Trenson (2002), p. 455.
↑ Trenson (2018), p. 276.
1 2 3 4 5 Ariga (2020), pp. 175–174.
1 2 Trenson (2018), p. 277, n13, n14.

Sources

Trenson, Steven (2018). "Rice, Relics, and Jewels" (PDF). Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 35 (2): 269–308. JSTOR 26854486.
Trenson, Steven (2002). "Une analyse critique de l'histoire du Shōugyōhō et du Kujakukyōhō : rites ésotériques de la pluie dans le Japon de l'époque de Heian" (PDF). Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie (in French). 13: 455–495. doi:10.3406/asie.2002.1191.^{[permanent dead link]}
Ariga, Natsuki [in Japanese] (March 2020). "Kongō-ji zō 'Ryūō-kōshiki' no shikibun sekai: shakuronchūshaku to kiugirei wo megutte" 金剛寺蔵『龍王講式』の式文世界 : 釈論注釈と祈雨儀礼をめぐって [The study of Ryūō-kōshiki at Kongō-ji Temple : Consideration into the influence of Syakumakaenron and its commentaries and the rituals to pray]. Jinbun / Gakushuin University Research Institute for Humanities-journal. 18: 166–180. hdl:10959/00004813.

[1] "Hachi Dai Ryu O (Eight Great Dragon Kings)".

[2] "Hundred Dragons". www.buddhatoothrelictemple.org.sg. Retrieved 2025-06-26.

[3] "Eight great dragon kings - Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia". www.chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2025-07-13.

[Tsondon-2024-4] 1 2 Tsondon, Ngakpa Konchok Dorje (2024-05-03). "The Eight Great Dragon Kings". Medium. Retrieved 2025-07-13.

[5] www.wisdomlib.org (2009-04-12). "Upananda: 13 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2025-07-15.

[FOOTNOTETrenson2002455-6] Trenson (2002), p. 455.

[FOOTNOTETrenson2018276-7] Trenson (2018), p. 276.

[FOOTNOTEAriga2020175–174-8] 1 2 3 4 5 Ariga (2020), pp. 175–174.

[FOOTNOTETrenson2018p._277,_n13,_n14-9] 1 2 Trenson (2018), p. 277, n13, n14.

Eight Great Dragon Kings
Sanskrit	Sanskrit: अष्टनागराजाः, romanized: aṣṭa-nāga-rājah
Chinese	八大龍王 (Bādà lóngwáng)
Japanese	八大龍王 (Hachidai Ryūō)
Korean	팔대룡왕 (paldaelyongwang)
Tibetan	Standard Tibetan: ཀླུའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་བརྒྱད་, romanized: klu'i rgyal po chen po brgyad