Skanda (Buddhism)

Skanda
Chinese	韋馱天 (Pinyin: Wéituó Tiān) 韋馱菩薩 (Pinyin: Wéituó Púsà)
Japanese	韋馱天（いだてん） (romaji: Idaten)
Korean	위타천 (RR: Wita Cheon)
Mongolian	Арван Хоёр Нууд
Tagalog	Skanda
Thai	พระเวทโพธิสัตว์
Tibetan	གདོང་དྲུག་ Wylie: gdong drug
Vietnamese	Vi Đà Bồ Tát Hộ Pháp Chư Tôn Bồ Tát
Information
Venerated by	Theravada, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna
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Skanda (Chinese:塞建陀, 室建陀), also known as Wei Tuo (Chinese: 韋馱) and Idaten (Japanese: 韋駄天), is a Mahayana bodhisattva regarded as a devoted guardian of Buddhist monasteries who protects the teachings of Buddhism.^[1][2] He is also sometimes called in the Chinese tradition "Hufa Weituo Zuntian Pusa", meaning "Honored Dharma Protector Skanda Bodhisattva", because he is one of the twenty-four celestial guardian deities mentioned in the Golden Light Sutra.

In Chinese temples, Skanda faces the statue of the Buddha in the main shrine, traditionally unarmed and with his hands in anjali. In others, he is on the far right of the main shrine with weapon in hand, whereas on the left is his counterpart, Sangharama (personified as the historical general Guan Yu). In Chinese sutras, his image is found at the end of the sutra, a reminder of his vow to protect and preserve the teachings.

According to legends, Skanda was the son of a virtuous king who had complete faith in Buddha's teachings. When the Buddha entered nirvana, the Buddha instructed Skanda to guard the Dharma. It was his duty to protect members of the sangha when they are disturbed by Mara, the tempter, and also to resolve conflicts amongst members of the sangha. A few days after the Buddha's passing and cremation, evil demons stole his relics. Skanda's vow of protecting the faith and Dharma was proven when he managed to defeat the evil demons and returned the relics.