vimAna · neuter · vimāna 1.1
palace
( vimāna , nt. and m. , = Skt. id. ; on use in Pali , see elaborate article in PTSD ; even in Skt. , see BR , it is not exclusively used of divine, nor yet of mobile, residences, but may apply to any luxurious dwelling-place, which in India would naturally include the surrounding grounds; see Mrs. Rhys Davids, Minor Anthologies of the Pali Canon Part IV, 1942 , p. vi : ‘… more than houses, including gardens, woods, lakes’ etc. … ‘ estates might have been more literally correct’, but she uses mansions ; several times in Jm the word is applied to something located in woods and used by a king for amusement; Speyer arbors , pw 7.375 ‘ etwa Hain ’, but surely buildings seem to be involved: vimāna-deśeṣu Jm 182.22, 183.3 ; the king takes a siesta śrīmati °na-pradeśe 183.10 ; the king stays for a time śrīmati pravivikte °na-deśe 192.23 ; vane manoharodyāna-°na-bhūṣite 208.20 . Pali certainly also uses the word, as does Skt. more commonly, of the air-traveling palaces of the gods; and I question whether either Pali or BHS gives it any meaning which could not be matched in Skt. On Divy 399.18 , where pw also sees the meaning Hain , see Śairīṣaka ; nothing in the context suggests any reason for departure from the common meaning, celestial , and no doubt mobile, palace .)
a mansion; heavenly palace
Vimāna 1 (neuter) [in the Pāli meaning not Vedic. Found in meaning "palace-chariot" in the MBh and elsewhere in Epic Sanskrit] literally covering a certain space, measuring; the definitions given by Dhammapāla refer it to "without measure," i.e. immeasurable. Thus = vigata-māne appamāṇe mahanta vara-pāsāda Vv-a 131; = visiṭṭhamānaṃ, pamāṇato mahantaṃ Vv-a 160. — Applied meaning: heavenly (magic) palace, a kind of paradise, elysium. 1. General remarks: (a) The notion of the vimāna is peculiar to the later, fantastic parts of the canon, based on popular superstition (Vimāna and Peta-vatthu, Apadāna, Jātaka and similar fairy tales). It shows distinct traces of foreign (Hellenic-Babylonian) influence and rests partly on tales of sea-faring merchants (cf. location of V. in mid-ocean). On the other hand it represents the old (Vedic) ratha as chariot of the gods, to be driven at will (cf. below 5, 7, 8). Thus at Vv 16 (here as 500 chariots!), 36, 63, 64; Ja I 59 (deva-vimānasadisa ratha). (b) The vimānas are in remote parts of the world (cf. the island of the blessed), similar to the elysium in Homer's Odyssey, e.g. IV 563 f. : σ'ἐς Ηλύσιον πεδίον καὶ πείρατα γαίης ἀθάνατοι πεμψουσιν etc. (translation G. Chapman: "the immortal ends of all the earth, the fields Elysian Fate to thee will give; where Rhadamanthus rules, and where men live a never troubled life, where snow, nor show'rs, nor irksome winter spends his fruitless pow'rs, but from the ocean zephyr still resumes a constant breath, that all the fields perfume"). Cf. Ehni, Yama page 206 f. (c) In popular religion the influence of this eschatological literature has been very great, so great in fact as to make the Vimāna and Peta-vatthus and the Jātaka stories, exemplifying the theory of retribution as appealing to an ordinary mind by vivid examples of mythology, greater favourites than any other canonical {631} book. From this point of view we have to judge Mhv 14, 58: Petavatthuṃ Vimānañ ca sacca-saṃyuttaṃ eva ca desesi thero ... 2. The descriptions of the Vimānas are in the most exuberant terms. The palaces (kingdoms in miniature) are of gold, crystal or exquisite jewels, their pillars are studded with gems, their glittering roofs are peaked with 700 pinnacled turrets (Vv-a 244, 289; also as "innumerable" Vv-a 188, or 18,000 Ap. 63). Surrounded are these towering (ucca) mansions by lovely, well-planned gardens, the paths of which are sprinkled with gold dust; they are full of wishing-trees, granting every desire. There is a variety of stately trees, bearing heavenly flowers and fruit, swaying gently in delicious breezes. Lotus ponds with cool waters invite to refreshing baths; a host of birds mix their songs with the strains of cymbals and lutes, played by heavenly musicians. Angelic maidens perform their dances, filling the atmosphere with a radiant light which shines from their bodies. Peace and happiness reign everywhere, the joys of such a vimāna cannot be expressed in words. This elysium lasts for æons (cira-ṭṭhitika Vv 80 1 , kappa-ṭṭhāyin Thag 1190); in short it is the most heavenly paradise which can be imagined. — For a monograph of vimāna the Vimāna Vatthu and its commentary should in the first place be consulted. 3. The inhabitants of the Vimānas are usually happy persons (or yakkhas: see Stede, GPv 39-41), called devatā, who have attained to such an exalted state through their own merit (puñña see 4 below). — Departed souls who have gone through the peta stage are frequently such devas (at Vv 17 2 called pubba-devatā). That these are liable to semi-punishment and semi-enjoyment is often emphasized, and is founded on the character of their respective kamma: Ja I 240 (vimāna-petiyo sattāhaṃ sukhaṃ anubhavanti, sattāhaṃ dukkhaṃ); Ja V 2 (vemānika-peta-bhavena-kammassa sarikkhako vipāko ahosi; i.e. by night pleasures; by day tortures); cf. Pv II 12 (see Stede, GPv page 106), III 7 8 ; Pv-a 204, 210, and Divy page 9. Expressions for these "mixed" devatās who are partly blessed, partly cursed are e.g.: vimāna-peta Pv-a 145, 148, 271, 275; feminine vimāna-petī Pv-a 152, 160, 186, 190; vimāna-devatā Pv-a 190; vemānika-peta Ja V 2; Pv-a 244; Dhp-a III 192 (as powerful, by the side of nāgas and supaṇṇas). — In their appearance they are like beautiful human beings, dressed in yellowish (pīta, explained as "golden" robes, with gold and silver as complementary outfit in person and surroundings. Thus throughout the Vimāna-vatthu, especially Nos, 36 and 47 (pīta-vimāna). Their splendour is often likened to that of the moon or of the morning star. 4. Origin of Vimānas. A vimāna arises in the "other world" (paraloka) at the instant of somebody doing good (even during the lifetime of the doer) and waits for the entry of the owner: Dhp-a III 291 f. In the description of the vimāna of the nāga-king (Ja VI 315 = Vv 84 22 ) it is said on this subject: a vimāna is obtained neither without a cause (adhicca), nor has it arisen in the change of the seasons, nor is it self-made (sayaṅkata), nor given by the gods, but "sakehi kammehi apāpakehi puññehi laddha" (i.e. won by one's own sinless and meritorious deeds). — Entering the Vimāna-paradise is, analogous to all semi-lethal passing over into enchanted conditions in fairy tales, compared with the awakening from sleep (as in a state of trance): sutta-ppabuddha Dhp-a III 7. Of the Vimāna itself it is said that it appears (pātur ahosi), e.g. Vv-a 188; Dhp-a I 131; or arises (uggañchi) Dhp-a III 291; Vv-a 221. 5. Location of the Vimānas. The "vimāna" is an individual paradisiacal state. Therefore vimānas are not definitely located "Elysian Fields." They are anywhere (in this world as well as in the beyond), but certain places are more favourable for their establishment than others. Thus we may state that kat) e)coxh/n they are found in the neighbourhood of water. Thus either in the Ocean (majjhe sāgarasmiṃ Thag 1190; samudda-majjhe Pv-a 47), where access is possible only through adventures after shipwreck or similar causes (Ja IV 1 f.; Pv IV 11); or at one or the other of the great lakes of the Himavant (Pv II 12). They are in out-of-the-way places ("end of the world"); they are also found in the wilderness: Vv 84; Pv IV 3 2 . As tree vimānas with rukkha-devatā as inhabitants they occur e.g. at Ja III 310; V 502; Pv I 9; II 9; Pv-a 244. Very often they are phantasmagorical castles in the air. By special power of their inhabitants they may be transported to any place at will. This faculty of transference is combined with the ability of extremely swift motion (compared to the speed of thought: manojava). Thus a golden palanquin is suspended in mid-air above a {565} palace at Vv-a 6 (ākāsa-cārin, sīgha-java). They are said to be ākāsaṭṭhānāni Ja VI 117; Pj II 222, 370 (but the palace of the yakkha Āḷavaka is bhumma-ṭṭha, i.e. stands on the ground, and is described as fortified: Pj II 222). The place of a (flying) vimāna may be taken by various conveyances: a chair, an elephant, ship, bed, litter etc. Or the location of it in the other world is in the Cittalatāvana (Vv 37), or the Pāricchattaka tree (Vv 38), or in the Cātummahārājika-bhavana (Vv-a 331). — Later on, when the theory of meritorious deities (or departed souls raised to special rank) as vemānikā devā was established, their abode was with their vimānas settled among the Tāvatiṃsa (e.g. Vv-a 188, 217, 221, 244, 289; Dhp-a III 291), or in the Tusita heaven. Thus Tusita-pura interchanges with Tusita-vimāna at Dhp-a II 208. The latter occurs e.g. at Dhp-a III 173, 219. 6. The dimensions of the Vimānas are of course enormous, but harmonious (being "divine"), i.e. either of equal extent in all directions, or specially proportioned with significant numbers. Of these the following may be mentioned. The typical numbers of greatest frequency are 12, 16, 30, 700, in connection with yojana. The dimensions, with reference to which 12 and 16 are used, are length, width, height, and girth, whereas 700 applies usually to the height (Dhp-a III 291 e.g., where it is said to be "over 700"), and the number of turrets (see above 2). At Vv-a 267 (satta-yojana-pamāṇo ratho) No. 7 is used for 700; No. 30 (extent) is found e.g. at Dhp-a III 7; Thig-a 55; No. 12 e.g. at Ja VI 116; Dhp-a III 291; Vv-a 6, 217, 221, 244, 246, 291 f.; No. 16 at Vv-a 188, 289. 7. Vimānas of sun and moon. A peculiar (late?) idea is that sun and moon have their vimānas (cf. Vedic ratha = sun). There are only very few passages in the post-canonical books mentioning these. The idea that the celestial bodies are vimānas ("immense chariots in the shape of open hemispheres" Kirfel, Kosmographie der Inder page 282) is essentially Jainistic. See on Jain Vimānas in general Kirfel, op. cit. pages 7-9, 292-300. — In the Pāli commentary we find Pj II 187, 188 (canda-vimānaṃ bhinditvā = breaking up the moon's palace, i.e. the moon itself); and Dhp-a III 99 (candimasuriyā vimānāni gahetvā aṭṭhaṃsu). 8. Other terms for vimāna, and specifications. Various other expressions are used more frequently for vimāna in general. Among these are ratha (see above 1 a); nagara (Pv II 12 5 ); pura (see above 5, as tusita°); pāsāda; either as dibba° (Dhp-a III 291), or vara° (Vv-a 130), or vimāna° (Vv 31 10 ). — The vimānas are specified as deva-vimāna "heavenly palace," e.g. Ja I 59; Vism 342; Vv-a 173; or (in a still more superlative expression) brahmavimāna, i.e. best or most excellent magic palace, highest paradise, e.g. D I 17 (here perhaps "palace of Brahmā"); III 28 ("abode of Brahmās" Rh.D.); It 15; Vism 108. The latter expression is abbreviated to brahma (neuter) "highest, best thing of all," "summum bonum," paradise, magic palace: Thig-a 47 (Ap. verse 6) and 55 (Ap. {632} verse 8), at both places as sukataṃ, i.e. well made. — A rather odd expression for the paradisiacal state (in concrete form) is attabhāva (existence, cf. Greek βιοτή Homer Odyssey IV 365) instead of vimāna, e.g. Dhp-a I 131 (tigāvuta-ppamāṇa); III 7 (the same). 9. Various. Of innumerable passages in the books mentioned above (under 1) only the following may be given for reference: Ja III 310 398, 405; V 165, 171; VI 117 f., 120 f.; Ap 35, 55, 59; Dāṭh IV 54 (acalaṃ v. antalikkhamhi nāvaṃ gativirahitaṃ ambhorāsi-majjhamhi disvā); and Vimānavatthu throughout. Of passages in the 4 older Nikāyas we have only A II 33 (ye devā dīghāyukā uccesu vimānesu cira-ṭṭhitikā). At S I 12 = 23 we should read "na ca mānaṃ" for "na vimānaṃ" ( K.S. I 18). Vimāna 2 [vi + māna] disrespect, contempt Snp 887 (°dassin showing contempt).
【中】 龍宮，天宮。~peta,【陽】 半受罪半享樂的陰精。~vatthu,【中】 《天宮事經》。
(masc, masc, from vimāneti) disrespect; disdain; contempt [lit.] causing to think apart Construction: vi + māne + a
(nt, nt, from māna) conceit; self-measurement; (comm) conceit or rebirth [lit.] causing to think apart Construction: vi + māne + a
(nt, nt) mansion; palace mansion, heavenly palace [lit.] measuring Construction: vi + √mā + ana