Deva (ten) or guardian deity
Anira Taishō
頞儞羅大将
Listed as one of the Twelve Divine Generals of Yakushi. The Twelve Divine Generals are twelve generals who protect Yakushi Nyorai and the people who believe in his teaching.
This introduction is based on materials from Shōhōin (Tobi Fudō). It is summarized within the scope of the beliefs and traditions those materials convey, and does not present explanations or customs common to all schools, shrines, and temples.
English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む
The name and role of Anira Taishō
Listed as one of the Twelve Divine Generals of Yakushi. In list form, his other name is given as 摩尼羅, his assigned zodiac sign as hitsuji (sheep), his original buddha (honjibutsu) as Marishiten, his held object as an arrow, and his body color as crimson.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
Protecting Yakushi Nyorai and those who believe in his teaching
The Twelve Divine Generals are twelve generals who protect the world of Yakushi Nyorai and those who believe in him. Shin-Yakushiji explains that each leads seven thousand attendants. Their fearsome faces and weapons are handed down not as a means of frightening people but as forms showing the strong work of protecting the Buddhist teaching.
Source: 新薬師寺
The peace prayed for in the Yakushi faith
In the Yakushi faith, in which people pray for deliverance from illness and disaster, the Twelve Divine Generals carry out that protection. There is also a faith that links them with the twelve zodiac signs, but their names and zodiac assignments differ by source and by temple. The individual assignments and held objects on this page are one example from the Butsuzō Zui lineage introduced by Shōhōin, and are not a table of correspondences shared by all temples.
Source: 新薬師寺・飛不動尊 正宝院・奈良薬師寺
Mantra (in Japanese, as written in the sources)
おん あにら そわか。
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院
Shown as written in the Japanese sources. This site does not set how or how many times to recite it.
Related kami and buddhas
Sources (in Japanese)
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：あに羅大将」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：目次」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：薬師十二神将」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 新薬師寺「十二神将」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 奈良薬師寺「金堂」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 鹿鳴文庫「仏像図彙：十二神将」（2026-10-16 確認）
- 国立台湾大学図書館／CBETA「薬師琉璃光如来本願功徳経（玄奘訳・大正蔵 T0450）」（2026-10-16 確認）