Deva (ten) or guardian deity
Sanchira Taishō
珊底羅大将
This is Sanchira Taishō, listed as one of the Twelve Heavenly Generals of Yakushi. The Twelve Heavenly Generals are twelve generals who guard Yakushi Nyorai and the people who believe in Yakushi's 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 Sanchira Taishō
This is Sanchira Taishō, listed as one of the Twelve Heavenly Generals of Yakushi. It is explained that the alternative name is 宗藍羅, that among the twelve zodiac animals the general is assigned the horse, and that the original buddha is Kokūzō Bosatsu.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
Tracing the form and the traditions
The object held is said to be a conch shell, and the body color smoke.
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 the teaching
The Twelve Heavenly Generals are twelve generals who guard the world of Yakushi Nyorai and those who have faith. Shin-Yakushi-ji explains that each of them leads seven thousand followers. Their fearsome faces and weapons are handed down not as a means of threatening people but as forms that show the strong work of protecting the Buddhist teaching.
Source: 新薬師寺
The peace hoped for in faith in Yakushi
In faith in Yakushi, in which people pray for relief from illness and misfortune, the Twelve Heavenly Generals take on the role of protection. There is also a belief linking them with the twelve zodiac animals, but the deities' names and the assignment of zodiac signs differ by source and by temple. The individual assignments and objects held on this page are one example from the Butsuzō Zui line introduced by Shōhōin, and 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 さんちら 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：珊底羅大将」（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）
- 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）