sān shí 33; sān
Trayastriṃśat. Thirty-three. 三十三天; 忉利天; 怛梨天, 多羅夜登陵舍; 怛利夜登陵奢; 怛利耶怛利奢 Trayastriṃśas. The Indra heaven, the second of the six heavens of form. Its capital is situated on the summit of Mt. Sumeru, where Indra rules over his thirty-two devas, who reside on thirty-two peaks of Sumeru, eight in each of the four directons. Indra's capital is called 殊勝 Sudarśana, 喜見城 Joy-view city. Its people are a yojana in height, each one's clothing weighs 六銖 (1/4 oz. ), and they live 1, 000 years, a day and night being equal to 100 earthly years. Eitel says Indra's heaven 'tallies in all its details with the Svarga of Brahminic mythology' and suggests that 'the whole myth may have an astronomical meaning', or be connected, with 'the atmosphere with its phenomena, which strengthens Koeppen's hypothesis explaining the number thirty-three as referring to the eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Ādityas, and two Aśvins of Vedic mythology'. In his palace called Vaijayanta 'Indra is enthroned with 1, 000 eyes with four arms grasping the vajra. There he revels in numberless sensual pleasures together with his wife Śacī... and with 119, 000 concubines with whom he associates by means of transformation'.
thirty-three