. central divinities 127
Astral Divinities
Astral divinities, including the gods associated with heavenly bodies,
were present in the Buddhist pantheon from early on in the history
of Chinese Buddhism. However, they became important enough to
appear as individual divinities with separate cultic status only at a later
date. We first encounter them in the Esoteric Buddhist pantheon in
the Tang.
Sudṛsti (Miaojian ̣ ) is an astral bodhisattva believed to reside in
the Northern Polar Star, who controls the gods of the Great Dipper.
Although this important astral god would appear to have an Indian
identity, he exists in a variety of forms, some of which were evidently
created in Heian Japan after the ninth century. The presence of Sudṛsti ̣
in China can be documented as far back as the middle of the Nanbei-
zhao, but no icons from this early period have yet been identified.^114
While the sources testify to the existence of a Sudṛṣti cult during the
second half of the Tang, it is most fully documented in Japanese ritual
manuals as well as in surviving paintings from the late Heian period
(figure 17).^115
Planetary gods are the personified deities of Mars, Venus, Saturn,
Jupiter, and Mercury. The orthodox Zhenyan tradition has transmitted
the iconographical forms of these divinities, which reflect a curious
blend of traditional Indian and Chinese imagery (or perhaps, more
correctly, Indian imagery in Chinese interpretation).^116 Primary scrip-
tures are the Qiyao xingchen biexing fa (Alternative
Practice of the Seven Luminaries and Planets) and the Suyao yigui
(Ritual Proceedings of the Constellations).^117 Both involve
divination and are attributed to Śubhākarasiṃha’s famous Chinese
disciple, Yixing.^118 The seven planetary gods, including the sun and
moon, are depicted as astral officials in Tejaprabha’s entourage in ban-
ner paintings from Dunhuang.
(^114) See T. 1336.21:588ab.
(^115) For additional information on this divinity, see Sørensen, “Astrology and the
Worship of the Planets in Esoteric Buddhism during the Tang,” in this volume.
(^116) Sørensen, “Astrology and the Worship of the Planets in Esoteric Buddhism dur-
ing the Tang,” in this volume. For images of the Five Planets, see Little, Eichman,
et al. 2000, 132–37. 117
T. 1308–1309.
(^118) See Keyworth, “Yixing,” in this volume.