Wisdom King
Wrathful deity in East Asian Buddhism / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A Wisdom King (Sanskrit: विद्याराज; IAST: Vidyārāja, Chinese: 明王; pinyin: Míngwáng; Japanese pronunciation: Myōō) is a type of wrathful deity in East Asian Buddhism.
Whereas the Sanskrit name is translated literally as "wisdom / knowledge king(s)," the term vidyā in Vajrayana Buddhism is also specifically used to denote mantras;[1] the term may thus also be rendered "mantra king(s)."[2][3] Vidyā is translated in Chinese with the character 明 (lit. "bright, radiant", figuratively "knowledge(able), wisdom, wise"), leading to a wide array of alternative translations such as "bright king(s)" or "radiant king(s)". A similar category of fierce deities known as Herukas are found in Tibetan Buddhism.
The female counterparts of Wisdom Kings are known as Wisdom Queens (Sanskrit (IAST): Vidyārājñī, Chinese: 明妃, Míngfēi, Japanese: Myōhi).