Other texts mention decorated gateways in the encircling wall, which is made of the seven precious things and is sixty yojana thick, and a great high-street, sixty yojana wide and paved with gold (Jāt 544, Eng. 542). The chief gate-way is called Cittakūṭadvārakoṭṭhakā (possible translation: the “Beautiful Mountain Guarded Door”) and it is guarded by statues of Inda (Sakka in his war-like manifestation) who stand there “like tigers” (Jāt 541).
Prominent among the features of Tāvatiṃsa are the many pleasure parks and gardens. The chief of these is the Nandanavana, “The Grove of Delight.” It is adorned with various lovely trees and ponds, and features a Nandana Lake (Jāt 220). The Nandanavana is always thronged with devatās and their retinues of accharās547 who come to enjoy themselves. We hear of festival days (ussavadivasa) when the devas congregate here to make merry (Vv-a 1). A typical story, one among many in the Vimānavatthu, is of a woman who made an offering of flowers to the Buddha and afterwards was reborn as a female deva who would spend her time singing, dancing, gathering garlands of Paricchattaka blossoms and generally playing in the Nanadanavana, surrounded by a retinue of one thousand accharās. The verses describing her blissful existence speak of her dancing:
While you are dancing with all your limbs in every way, deva-like sounds (dibbā saddā) stream forth, delightful to hear.
While you are dancing with all your limbs in every way, deva-like scents (dibbā gandhā) are wafted around, sweet scents, delightful … .
And the perfume of those sweet-scented, delightful garlands on your head blows in all directions, like the mañjūsaka tree.
You breathe that sweet scent, you see unearthly beauty (rūpaṃ amānusaṃ—lit. non-human forms), devatā.548
As the most delightful place in the Tāvatiṃsa realm, itself the highest of the realms connected to the earth, Nandanavana is considered the epitome of sensual pleasure. When an earthly garden is given the highest praise, it is compared to Nandanavana.549 In the Saṃyutta Nikāya we hear of a newly arisen deva, overwhelmed by the delightful experience of all five senses, exclaiming. “He does not know bliss who has not seen Nandanavana!” (For this, he is rebuked by a wiser deva who reminds him that all compounded things are subject to destruction and that the highest bliss is the stilling of formations) (SN 1:11).
So delightful is Nandanavana that it is here where devas choose to go at the end of their life-spans. Not only does the fear of death dissolve “like a snow-ball,” (SN-a 1:11) under the spell of Nandanavana’s divine beauty, but it is believed among them that a deva who dies here will take a fortunate rebirth.550 Not only Tāvatiṃsa but every sagga has its own Nandanavana, and it is, for instance, from the Nandanavana in Tusita that the Bodhisatta passed away before taking his final human birth as Siddhattha Gotama, who became the Buddha (ibid .).
Three other gardens of Tāvatiṃsa are named in the texts. Cittalatāvana was made manifest by the kamma of Cittā, one of Magha’s four wives. She had planted a lovely garden with many varieties of trees and flowering vines to adorn the great hall built by Magha and his companions. She herself was reborn as one of Sakka’s hand-maidens (pādaparicārikā) (Jāt 31). The Cittalatāvana was best known for its great abundance of flowering vines (“vine” is latā in Pali). It is so beautiful that the radiance of the devas who visit it is dimmed by comparison (Vv-a 37). Here grows the āsāvatī creeper, which flowers only once in a thousand years. An intoxicating drink is made from the fruit which causes the drinker to lie in a pleasant stupor upon his divan for four months (Jāt 380). The Phārusakavana is named for the phārusaka berry which grows there. This is identified as the Grewia Asiatica plant,551 and is used to make a more wholesome and refreshing drink (Vin Mv 6). The Missikāvana is not described in any detail, but the name means loosely either “Grove of Many Kinds.” or “Grove of Bodily Union.”552
A very important feature of Tāvatiṃsa is the Sudhamma Hall—the full name is Sudhammādevasabhaṃ (lit. “Good Dhamma Deva Hall”)—where the Thirty-Three meet in assembly. Its dimensions are variously given as five-hundred (Jāt 31) or nine-hundred (Dhp-a 2:7) yojana. Perhaps one number refers to its height, and the other to its extent, although this is not made clear. The Sudhamma Hall is said to be the most delightful structure in the world, and it is a common saying “even nowadays” (yāvajjatanā) to say of any beautiful building that it is “like the Sudhamma Hall.” There, under a yojana wide white parasol sits Sakka, lord of the devas (devānamindo) upon a golden couch, ruling over devas and humans (devamanussānaṃ kattabbakiccāni karoti) (Dhp-a 2:7).
There are four occasions for the meetings of the devas: the beginning and end of the vassa, (the “rains retreat” of the monastic order), for the teaching of Dhamma or for the blossom festival (pāricchattakakīḷānubhavana).553 At the beginning of the vassa, the full moon of the month of Āsāḷha (roughly, July), the devas investigate where on earth various communities of bhikkhus will be staying for the rains, and organize their protection (DN-a 18).
In two related suttas of the Dīgha Nikāya (DN 18 & 19) we have a description of such an assembly taking place at the beginning of the vassa. There are said to be a great many assembled devas, including all of the Thirty-Three and the Four Great Kings together with their own attendant devas. King Dhataraṭṭha of the East sits in the east, facing west and likewise with the other three Great Kings, each in his own place which implies a circular arrangement for the whole. It is said that those devas, newly arrived in Tāvatiṃsa, who have lived the lived the holy life under the Buddha, have a greater splendour (atirocanti vaṇṇena) than the others. The devas of the Thirty-Three discussed the matters at hand (the protection of bhikkhus on earth, according to the commentary) and gave their instructions to the Four Great Kings, who for this purpose stood unmoving beside their seats. This procedure demonstrates the way of governance of the devas: the decision-making is done collectively by the Thirty-Three under the kingship of Sakka and the discussion is witnessed by a greater assembly of lesser devas. The implementation of the decision is then entrusted to the Four Great Kings, who work the will of the devas in the human realm.
Then there occurred a visitation by a mahābrahmā554 named Sanankumarā. This episode has many interesting aspects which reveal details about relations between the various realms. At the outset all that is seen by the assembled devas is a “glorious radiance” (uḷāro āloko) coming from the north. The devas are unable to perceive the brahmā in his natural form, it is “beyond the range of their vision.”555 To be seen by the devas, Sanankumarā was obliged to assume a coarser form; on this occasion he transformed himself into the appearance of the gandhabba Pañcasikha,556 and remained hovering in space seated in a cross-legged posture. He chose this form because Pañcasikha is “dear to all the devas” (kira sabbadevatā attabhāvaṃ mamāyanti) (DN-a 18). Sanankumarā performed one additional transformation and multiplied his body thirty-three times and sat down beside each of the great devas on their divans, causing each to think the brahmā was addressing him alone (DN 18).
It is a general rule that a being who wishes to manifest in a lower realm must assume a coarser form suitable to that realm to be visible to its inhabitants. This is implied in many instances of devas appearing in the human sphere. For instance, when the devas of Tāvatiṃsa come to visit the Buddha on one occasion, the villagers nearby perceive only a terrifying brilliant light and imagine that the mountaintop is aflame (DN 21). Likewise, in Sakka’s many visitations to humans, he always takes on an earthly form, usually of a brahmin. This may be in part for purposes of disguise, as he seems to prefer to do his work incognito, but at least a couple of instances may be cited which indicate that such a form is necessary in order to be seen at all. In Jātaka 347 a yakkha attempts to smite the Bodhisatta, but is stopped by Sakka. The yakkha, but not Sakka, is seen by the Bodhisatta. In Jātaka 194 Sakka is said specifically to “assume a visible form” (dissamānakasarīra) in order to be seen. The exception to this rule is that the Buddha and others who
have developed the “divine eye” faculty (dibbacakkhu) are able to perceive beings invisible to others.557
3:5:11 ACCHARĀS CELESTIAL NYMPHS
There are often references to devas in the sensual heavens being endowed with the “five cords of divine sense-pleasure” (dibbā pañca kāmaguṇā). Beautiful gardens full of flowers and blossoming trees, and an ambience full of music and dance, have already been referred too, but this makes up only a portion of the devas’ pleasures. Firstly, we may mention that the devas themselves are often described as of “extremely pleasant appearance.”558 They are also said to be radiant, with a glorious brilliance which is compared to the morning star, (Vv-a 9) or even to the sun and moon (Vv-a 30). They wear the finest cloth and are gorgeously adorned with gold, jewelled ornaments, and especially flower-garlands.559 Male devas always appear to be twenty years old, female ones to be sixteen (DN-a 14).
Especially beautiful are the ubiquitous accharās, (Sanskrit apsara) usually translated as “nymphs.” The accharās are a class of minor female devas whose erotic charms form one of the principal delights of Tāvatiṃsa. The loveliness of the accharās was proverbial, and it is common in the texts to hear the beauty of a human woman praised by saying that she was “just like a divine nymph.”560 Besides the natural beauty of their form, like the other devas they are often said to be radiant and sometimes compared to the star Osadhi.561 The accharās are always adorned with finery and jewels, and are skilled in the arts of music and dance.
Very frequently accharās are described with the adjective kakuṭapāda, usually translated as “dove-footed.” This has led to some representations in later Buddhist art of beautiful female forms with bird-like talons instead of feet. This does not seem to have been the original intention of the word, and would, it seems rather spoil their erotic charm!562 Kakuṭapāda probably referred to the colour or perhaps the softness of their feet. There is a passage in the commentary to the Suttanipāta which says that they were all disciples of Kassapa Buddha and had given him an offering of oil to anoint the feet, and hence were eventually reborn as “dove-footed” (Sn-a 1: 12). This seems a contrived explanation, given the vast numbers of accharās found in Tāvatiṃsa, (Sakka’s retinue alone constitutes twenty-five millions) and it may be that the phrase seemed odd already at the time the commentaries were composed. The adjective itself is a rare one; according to the PED, the word kakuta occurs only in this compound, never independently.
In a Jātaka story there is a long verse passage in praise of the beauty of the accharā Alambusā:
The ascetic Isiniṅga was so advanced in his practice of sense-restraint that Sakka became afraid that he would accumulate enough merit to replace him on the throne of Tāvatiṃsa, so the King of the Devas decided to send the accharā Alambusā to tempt him. Sakka remarks that while the Nandana Grove is full of lovely accharās, none has Alambusā’s skill in knowing how to entice a man. When the hapless Isiniṅga saw her approaching his hermitage, he spoke aloud a long plaintive series of verses:
“Who is this, radiant like lightning or the healing star?
Adorned with bracelets and earrings?
With complexion like the sun, and scent of sandalwood.
With her well-formed thighs of great enchantment, who is this woman lovely to behold?
Your waist tender and pure, your feet firmly planted,
Your gait is sensuous, you overthrow my mind!
Tapering are your thighs, like an elephant’s trunk.
Smooth are your buttocks, like a dicing board.
Like the petals of a lotus, your navel is pleasantly shaped,
Adorned with dark markings, it is seen from afar.
Twin breasts, milky and firm, like pumpkin halves without stalks.
Long is your neck, with shell-like markings, like an antelope’s.
Lovely are your lips and your tongue.
Your upper and your lower teeth are well-polished with tooth-stick,
Both gums are flawless, your teeth are pure.
Dark as liquorice berries are the marking around your big, wide beautiful eyes.
Not too long and neatly bound with golden pins,
Your hair has the fragrance of sandal-wood.”
With her feminine cunning (itthimāyākusalatāya) Alambusā knew that if she remained standing there the seer would never approach her, so she pretended to flee from him, and he chased and easily caught her. Isiniṅga lay enchanted in Alambusā’s lovely arms for three years, the time passing as if it were but a single moment, until at last he awoke to the shock and the shame of having violated his vows.563
The detail of their embrace lasting three years, but seeming like a moment, is significant in that we have once more an indication of the strange and dream-like quality of these realms, and of the fluid nature of time. It must be noted, in Alambusā’s defence, that she was very reluctant to take on this assignment, protesting to Sakka that to seduce a seer would be terrible kamma, and afterward she asked him for the boon of never being required to do the same again (Jāt 523).
Isiniṅga was not the only human to fall into woe through the charms of the accharās: after once getting a glimpse of them, the householder Sujātā, wasted away with such hopeless passion that he died of starvation (Jāt 537).
The most well-known episode involving the accharās may be the story of the bhikkhu Nanda, a half-brother of the Buddha. Among other interesting details, it emphasizes the beauty of the accharās by way of comparison. It occurs in several places in the texts.564
Before ordaining as a bhikkhu, the venerable Nanda had been engaged to the most beautiful girl in the Sakyan land. The last time he saw his fiancée, she had been standing in the door-way combing her hair as she asked him to return to her soon. Nanda’s decision to take the robe was a sudden one, made out of deference for the Buddha, and he began to regret it, as he could not get the image of his beloved standing in that doorway out of his mind.
The Buddha, knowing the trouble Nanda was having living the holy life, invited him to take his hand and by supernormal power, the Buddha together with Nanda flew through the air to Tāvatiṃsa on the top of Mount Sineru. On their way through the Himavā, they passed over a region devastated by forest-fire. There they saw a pitiful, half-scorched she-monkey clinging forlornly to a branch. The Buddha asked Nanda to take note of this.
Having arrived in due course at Sakka’s throne in Tāvatiṃsa, the king of the devas came together with a retinue of five-hundred accharās to pay respects to the Buddha. The Buddha asked Nanda which was prettiest, his Sakyan fiancée or the dove-footed accharās of Tāvatiṃsa? Nanda replied without hesitation that compared to these nymphs, his former beloved was no different than the burnt monkey of the Himavā. The Buddha replied that should Nanda continue diligently with his practice, after death he would be reborn as a deva in Tāvatiṃsa and have five-hundred accharās of his own.
The bhikkhu Nanda began to practice with more diligence, but his fellow monks disparaged him. “This bhikkhu Nanda follows the holy life for the sake of desire for accharās! He follows the way of the hired servant, the way of the merchant (bhatakavāda ca upakkitakavāda).” Hearing this, Nanda became ashamed and at last undertook the holy life in real earnest. After some time he achieved the goal of the practice and became an arahant.
Nanda went to pay his respects to the Buddha and to release him from his promise of accharās. The Buddha replied that he was freed from his promise as soon as Nanda had freed his mind from grasping. (Ud 3:2 & Jāt 182)
This story illustrates nicely the increasing refinement of the pleasures in the higher realms. While looking down from the height of resplendent Tāvatiṃsa, one sees no difference between a burnt she-monkey and the most beautiful of the Sakyan maidens, a race renowned for its beautiful women. Furthermore, this story offers an important reminder that even the most refined pleasures of the devas are conditioned, impermanent, and ultimately empty. Indeed, while the she-monkey, the Sakyan maiden, and the nymph were once see
n respectively as burnt, beautiful, and divinely resplendent, for one who has realized the unconditioned, there is no longer any difference between them!
Few are the human males who can resist the lure of the heavenly accharās. We do meet one such steadfast individual in the following story from the Saṃyutta Commentary:
Forgetting the middle path, a certain bhikkhu became overly zealous in his practice, neglecting to eat and sleep until it undermined his bodily health. Racked by severe pains, he continued to do his walking meditation until at last he fell over dead.
He was immediately reborn as a deva in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven, standing in the doorway of a gorgeously decorated vimāna. Inside were one thousand accharās playing musical instruments. They beckoned him to come inside and partake of heavenly enjoyment. The new deva, however, did not understand that he had died. He looked at the lovely nymphs with the perception of a samaṇa and felt ashamed. He hung his head and tried to pull the fine cloth of his deva garments over his shoulders, like a monk’s rag-robe.
Seeing this gesture, the accharās understood his mind, and brought him a full-length mirror. “See! You are now a deva. The time for a bhikkhu’s practice is finished, now is the time to enjoy heavenly delight.” The deva, understanding at last, was appalled. “It is not for the sake of sense pleasure that I was practising Dhamma, but for the sake of the supreme release of nibbāna!”
Instead of entering into the vimāna, the deva descended to earth and approached the Buddha, followed by his retinue of accharās. He spoke this verse before the Buddha:
“Resounding with a host of nymphs, (accharāgaṇa)
Haunted by a host of demons! (pisācagaṇa)
This grove is to be called ‘Deluding’ (mohana instead of nandana)
How does one escape from it?”565
What is the condition of life for the accharās themselves? It is certainly considered a happy rebirth, if not a very elevated one, more or less the female equivalent of the gandhabbas. The term accharā may indicate more a social class among the devas rather than a separate race of being. The several distinct words used to refer to female inhabitants of the heavenly worlds, devī, devadhītu (lit. “daughter of the gods’), and accharā are used somewhat interchangeably, to which must be added the gender neutral word devatā. The Saṃyutta Commentary says explicitly that accharā is another name for devadhītu.566 In one place, Sakka’s own daughter, the devī Hirī, is referred to as an accharā.567 The distinction between devatā and accharā is especially blurred in one story, the Guttilavimāna, (Vv-a 33) where a female being addressed as devatā is said to have been reborn as an attendant of Sakka, with her own retinue of accharās. At one point in the verses, she declares “A nymph am I, who can assume any form at will, the most glorious of a thousand nymphs. Behold the fruition of my merit.”568 Once again we find that the distinction between the various kinds of beings is not always clear-cut.
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