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Shakra is a name for Indra, the deity known in Buddhist texts as a protector and participant in important religious narratives. The word is also glossed as “powerful.” This article covers the Sanskrit religious name and its Buddhist context—not every person, place, or business with a similar spelling.
What does Shakra mean?
The Nichiren Buddhism Library’s Dictionary of Buddhism says, “The Sanskrit word shakra means powerful.” It identifies Shakra as one of Indra’s titles and notes that Buddhist texts adopted Shakra as his primary name, although they also use Indra.
Spelling varies with transliteration: the library entry uses “Shakra” and also gives the form “Śakra.” “Sakra” is another rendering found in this reference tradition.
Who is Shakra?
Shakra is Indra, a deity associated in the Nichiren Buddhism Library’s account with Vedic mythology, where Indra was originally a god of thunder. In early Vedic and Hindu belief, the entry describes Indra as lord or king of the gods. Shakra is one of his many titles.
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A separate lexical note helps explain why a dictionary search may return more than the deity’s name: Hindwi’s Hindi dictionary lists शक्र as a Sanskrit masculine noun, with Indra as its main sense. It also records botanical senses, including kutaja (also called koraiya) and arjuna/coh. These are additional dictionary meanings, not other identities of the Buddhist figure.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What role does Shakra have in Buddhism?
In the Nichiren Buddhism Library’s description, Shakra is one of Buddhism’s two principal protective gods, alongside Brahmā. Buddhist narratives often show him testing practitioners by taking different forms. The entry also says Shakra attended the assembly at which the Lotus Sutra was preached on Eagle Peak.
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This is the account given by that Buddhist reference; it should not be taken as a complete description of how every Buddhist school understands Shakra or Indra.
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