View source for Heaven of the Thirty-Three

'''Heaven of the Thirty-Three''' (Skt. ''Trāyastriṃśa''; Tib. ''Sumchu Tsasum''; [[Wyl.]] ''sum cu rtsa gsum'') — second heaven of the [[desire realm]], situated on the summit of [[Mount Meru]] and presided over by thirty-three gods of whom [[Indra]] is the chief. 

In the middle of it lies the city Sudarashana (Skt. ''Sudaraśana''; [[Wyl.]] grong khyer lta na sdug, Eng. the city of "Lovely-to-See.”) The city has at its center ([[Wyl.]] ''rnam par rgyal ba'i khang bzang'') the palace of Indra. The city is surrounded by four parks: 
*1. Caitraratha vana ([[Wyl.]] ''shing rta sna tshogs kyi tshal''; Eng. Park of Various Chariots), 
*2. Pārusakā vana (Skt. ''pārusakā vana'' or ''pāruṣyaka vana'', [[Wyl.]] ''rtsub 'gyur tshal''; Eng. Park of Armory), 
*3. Mishraka vana (Skt. Miśrakā vana; [[Wyl.]] '' ’dres pa'i tshal'', Eng. Park of Various Activities), and 
*4. Nandana vana ([[Wyl.]] ''dga' ba'i tshal''; Eng. Park of Delights). 

The gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three regularly wage war against the [[Demigods|asuras]].

==Further Reading==
*[[Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé]], ''Myriad Worlds'' (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1995), pages 116-118.

==Internal Links==
*[[Six heavens of the desire realm]]

[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:Three Realms]]