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Chapter 2 Indian Mythology and the Chinese Imagination: Nezha, Nalakˉ ubara, and Kr .s .n .a Meir Shahar “Even if he is a Nezha [freak], bring him here at once!” Thus exclaims a glamorous lady in Cao Xueqin’s (ca. 1724–ca. 1763) Dream of the Red Chamber. Her allusion to the notorious holy terror is immediately effective, as the bashful Qinzhong is introduced to Xifeng, who finds the queer boy delightful.1 Who is the monstrous Nezha that an eighteenth-century Chinese lady invoked as the quintessential enfant terrible? In this chapter I trace his origins over two thousand years, from late imperial China back to ancient India. For the sometimes terrifying sometimes mischievous Nezha is none other than Vaiśravaṇa’s son Nalak ūbara, whose sexual misadventures had been celebrated in classical Indian literature as early as the first centuries BCE. The Hindu divinity’s long journey from the Sanskrit epics, through Tantric Buddhist scriptures, to late imperial (and contemporary ) Chinese fiction exemplifies the impact of Indian mythology on Chinese religion and literature. The fiendish child-god has held a firm grip on the Chinese imagination for fifteen hundred years. His cult has been adopted by the Daoist clergy as well as the popular religion, and his myth is continuously being adapted to new media—from oral, and written, fiction to television serials and films—in diverse regional dialects. A study of Nezha/Nalakūbara might shed light, therefore, on the processes by which Indian mythology has been integrated into Chinese culture. Ever since his introduction to China during the medieval period, the figure of Nezha/Nalakūbara has evolved in response to local conditions. The child-god’s cult has assumed diverse forms under varying social, economic, and political conditions , and the numerous versions of his visceral myth have grown to reflect 22 Meir Shahar native psychological, social, and religious tensions. These, however, will not be exhausted in this brief chapter. The following pages highlight only those aspects of the Chinese Nezha myth that can be traced back to India. As we will see, Sanskrit literature had associated the boyish Nalakūbara with the awesome child-god Kṛṣṇa (Bāla-Kṛṣṇa). It is possible, therefore, that two of the greatest Asian story-cycles—the Indian legends of the baby Kṛṣṇa, and the Chinese myths of the infant Nezha—are not unrelated. The figure of Nezha/Nalakūbara was brought to China by Tantric ritual masters who had harnessed the powers of the Hindu gods to fight evil spirits ranging from the demons of disease to foreign armies. Hence, the history of the impish Nezha might illustrate the significance of Tantric Buddhism (also known as esoteric Buddhism) as an agent for the Indian gods’ impact upon the Chinese imagination . Tantric Buddhism had served as a vehicle for the transmission of the Indian pantheon of divinities into China. In this respect, this chapter joins recent scholarship that has demonstrated the tremendous influence of esoteric Buddhism on medieval China. Whereas Nalakūbara’s Indian history has received no scholarly attention, Nezha ’s Chinese career has been investigated. In the following pages I draw upon the discoveries of Liu Ts’un-yan, Chen Xiaoyi, Hok-Lam Chan, Xiao Dengfu, and other scholars who have surveyed the Chinese sources on the enfant terrible.2 The Chinese Nezha Xifeng’s allusion to Nezha was not exceptional. By late imperial times, the Indian -born god had become a Chinese household name. The fiendish child-god had captured the imagination of Chinese believers to such an extent that he ranked among their most popular divinities. To be sure there are numerous measures for the popularity of Chinese gods: Some have temples dedicated to them, whereas others commonly figure as ancillary divinities on the altars of other deities. Some occupy prominent positions in the heavenly bureaucracy, whereas the hagiographies of others are recorded in Daoist, or Buddhist, scriptures. The scope of the Nezha cult may be briefly gauged by the number of temples dedicated to him (in Taiwan, with over a hundred to his name, he is among the most widely worshiped gods), by his prominence in spirit-medium cults, and by his role in Daoist rituals, in which he is titled “The General of the Middle Altar” (Zhongtan yuanshuai).3 Clearly, by late imperial times, the rebellious child had emerged as one of the 8.119.104.238] Project MUSE (2024-04-26 11:14 GMT) Indian Mythology and the Chinese...

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