Nezha

Nezha is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar". He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" after he became a deity. Origins According to Meir Shahar, Nezha is ultimately based on two figures from Hindu mythology. The first is a yaksha from the Ramayana named Nalakuvara, the son of yaksha king Kubera and nephew of the antagonist Ravana. The link to Nalakuvara is established through variants in his Chinese name appearing in Buddhist sutras. The original variant Naluojiupoluo changed to Naluojubaluo, Nazhajuwaluo and finally Nazha. The simple addition of the "mouth radical" to Na changes the name to the current form Nezha. The second figure is the child god Krishna. Both Krishna and Nezha are powerful children that defeat mighty serpents, Kaliya in the case of the former and Ao Bing in the latter. The Bhagavata Purana describes how Nalakubar was rescued from imprisonment within a tree by Krishna. A 10th-century Tantric Buddhist sutra mentions a child god that seems to be an amalgam of Krishna and Nalakuvara called Nana. In addition, Nalakuvara's father Kubera was eventually absorbed into the Buddhist pantheon as the Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa. Shahar notes that Vaisravana was somehow connected to the historical Tang Dynasty general Li Jing. This explains the name and position of Nezha's father, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing. Story