In Theravādin chronicle tradition (as summarized from the Mahavamsa in modern sources), Maliyadeva is presented as a monk who lived in Sri Lanka in the period given as the 2nd century BCE and who attained nirvana. Within that chronicle-derived framing he is described as one of the last well-known arahants in Sri Lanka; modern summaries record that Buddhism in Sri Lanka is said to have declined after his period. Beyond this chronicle-based placement, local legends attach further devotional narratives to his figure, such as an account that he brought four Buddha statues from India to Sri Lanka.
Sources identify Maliyadeva by his role and locations rather than by a physical portrait: he is described as a Buddhist monk and arahant in chronicle summaries. No systematic contemporaneous physical description (height, complexion, dress beyond monastic identity) is recorded in the cited material. Instead, the tradition preserves places connected to him—his meditation chamber at Arankale, his dwelling at Guharamaya, and folkloric association with Ravanagoda in Kotmale—as focal points of his memory.
According to modern summaries of the Mahavamsa, Maliyadeva attained nirvana and is described in that tradition as possessing high psychic powers (Abhiññā; Sinhala gloss අභිඥ්ඥාලාභී අරහතුන් වහන්සේ). The available sources do not enumerate specific supernatural feats beyond this summary claim; a distinct legend recorded in secondary summaries attributes to him the action of bringing four Buddha statues from India to Sri Lanka. No other miracles, powers, or behavioral descriptions are preserved in the provided material.
Acala
Acala (Sanskrit: अचल, 'The Immovable') is a wrathful protective deity (dharmapala) in Vajrayāna and East Asian esoteric Buddhism, classed among the Wisdom Kings (Vidyārāja). He functions as a ritual focus for visualization and mantra practice intended to remove obstacles and bind or destroy hostile forces.
Acalanātha (Acala / Achala)
Acalanātha (also Acala or Achala) is a wrathful deity and dharmapāla — a protector of the Dharma — prominent in Vajrayana and East Asian Mahayana Buddhist contexts. Presented as a fierce, non‑human or semi‑divine protector-figure, Acalanātha functions to defend the teaching and practitioners by removing obstacles and confronting threats to the transmission and practice of Buddhism.
Agni
Agni is the Vedic personification of fire in Hindu tradition: a sacred, mediating principle that manifests as terrestrial fire, atmospheric lightning, and celestial sun, and that receives and conveys sacrificial offerings. Prominent in the Rigvedic corpus, Agni functions as sanctifier, witness of rites of passage, and a transformational inner principle in later Upanishadic literature.
Aizen Myō-ō (Rāgarāja)
Aizen Myō-ō corresponds to the deity Rāgarāja, a wrathful/transformation-oriented figure venerated in Esoteric and Vajrayāna Buddhist traditions. The figure is especially revered in Chinese Esoteric Buddhism in Chinese communities and in the Japanese Esoteric schools Shingon and Tendai.
Akhu Tönpa
A Tibetan trickster figure, sent by Chenrezig to teach the art of being shrewd and witty, while championing the common man against social hierarchies. (Note: - Power tier should be Lesser or Minor Spirit, not Ancient, as it's more aligned with local spirit level of trickster figures. - The ability to outwit those in positions of power suggests Greater or P)
Akshobhya
Akshobhya is a transcendent buddha of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism, one of the Five Wisdom (Dhyāni) Buddhas. He personifies 'mirror knowledge' (ādarśa-jñāna), is conventionally placed in the East, and is lord of the eastern Pure Land Abhirati; in esoteric texts he is associated with the eastern Vajra division and invoked in mantra/mandala ritual contexts.
Akuma
Akuma (悪魔／あくま) in Japanese sources is an evil spirit, devil, or demon associated with misfortune and mental disturbance. The term appears in Buddhist texts and Heian-period literature and was later used to translate the Christian figure of Satan, as well as the Buddhist Mara.
Amanojaku
Amanojaku (天邪鬼 / あまのじゃく) is a Japanese yōkai-type being portrayed as a contrarian, heart-reading trickster. Treated in different contexts as a small ogre (ko-oni), a wicked demon (jaki) in Buddhist iconography, and a folkloric spirit that provokes human vice, it appears across regional tales with variable roles from malicious kidnapper to household oddity.
Amida Nyorai
Amida Nyorai (Amitābha / Amitāyus) is a principal Mahayana Buddha venerated across East Asia as the embodiment of Infinite Light and Infinite Life who presides over a Western Pure Land and is invoked as the savior who receives the dying into rebirth there.
Amitābha
Amitābha is a central celestial Buddha of Mahayana Buddhism who presides over the western Pure Land called Sukhāvatī. Devotional practices invoking his 'measureless' light and life (nianfo/nembutsu) are presented in Pure Land traditions as a path by which beings may be reborn in his buddhafield and quickly attain Buddhahood.
Amitābha Buddha
Amitābha is a principal Mahayana Buddha who presides over the Western Pure Land (the Land of Ultimate Bliss). Devotional practices—most centrally recitation of his name and chanting of Pure Land sutras—are presented in sources as the means by which Amitābha welcomes practitioners for rebirth in his hindrance-free realm.
Amoghapāśa
Amoghapāśa is recorded in the supplied sources as a named manifestation or form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara/Lokeśvara attested in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna contexts. The evidence in the provided material is archival and bibliographic (sūtra/dhāraṇī/maṇḍala filenames and database entries) rather than descriptive narrative or doctrinal exposition.
Community Record
- [1]Maliyadeva - Wikipedia summary. "Maliyadeva was a monk who is said to have lived in Sri Lanka during the 2nd century BCE and to have attained nirvana."; "According to the Mahavamsa... the last well-known arhat who had high psychic powers (Abiññalabhi...)"; "A legend says he brought four Buddha statues from India to Sri Lanka."; "His meditation chamber may be seen at Arankale and his dwelling place at Guharamaya... Ravanagoda, Kotmale."wiki
- [2]Maliyadeva College (institutional reference). Institutional use of the name: "Maliyadeva College (Sinhala: මලියදේව විද්යාලය ) is a national school... located in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka..."wiki
- [3]Vattarama Sri Arahatta Maliyadeva Rajamaha Viharaya - Philatelic Bureau item. Philatelic Bureau reference to a First Day Cover: "Vattarama Sri Arahatta Maliyadeva Rajamaha Viharaya."other
- [4]Maliyadeva Jubilee Digest - 75th Jubilee (archive). Commemorative institutional publication: Maliyadeva College 75th Jubilee Digest (archive item).other
- [5]Discussion: Why did Buddhism nearly become extinct in Sri Lanka? (stackexchange summary citing tradition). Secondary discussion referencing traditional claims that Buddhism declined after the era of prominent arahants such as Maliyadeva (as summarized from chronicle tradition).other