Nezha (哪吒) is a Taoist deity whose life story was recorded in the Ming dynasty work “Creations of the Gods” (封神榜) and 'Journey to the West' (西游记). His is known as the Central Marshal (中坛元帅) in the Taoist pantheon and also Third Lotus Price by his devotees (莲花三太子).Nezha’s birthday is celebrated on 8th day of the Forth lunar month ( 四月初八日).

Birth of Nezha

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Born in the Shang dynasty, his mother Lady Yin (殷氏) was pregnant with Nezha for three years before giving birth to a ball of flesh. His father, Li Jing (李靖) the Shang army commander at Cheng Tang slashed it apart to find a young child who was already about to walk and talk.

That dramatic first interaction between father and son seemed to have strained their relationship but luckily for Nezha, a celestial being (太乙真人) arrived and accepted his as a disciple. Gong shi fa cai.

Nezha was the youngest in the family having two elder brothers Jin Zha (金咤) and Muzha (木咤).

Battle with the Dragon Kings

When Nezha was a child he already processed incredible powers. Once when he bathed at sea, his movement generated strong currents greatly disturbing the East Ocean Dragon's palace.

The dragon king's third son was dispatched to check the source of turbulence but ended in a fight with Nezha who eventually killed him.

The grieving East Ocean Dragon King rallied the other Three Dragon Kings to seek Li Jing for revenge. Nezha not wanting to create more problems for his family committed suicide.

Nezha's death

After his death, Nezha's mother built a temple in his memory and it became very popular with people. However when Li Jing discovered the temple, he destroyed it.
Li Jing's destruction of the temple angered Nezha who by now had been resurrected by his teacher using lotus roots and given two treasures the fire wheel and fire spear.

In his anger Nezha attacked his father and the two battled until two celestial beings intervened and helped the father and son reconcile.

Creation of God, Journey to the West

As the Shang rule became increasing corrupt, Nezha along with his father and brothers assisted King Wu to establish the Zhou dynasty. This adventure was recorded in the novel “Creation of the Gods” In “Journey to the West”, Nezha was sent by the jade emperor to subdue the Monkey God but failed to stop his terror in the Celestial Court.

Nezha in the Taoist patheon

The Legend Of Nezha Tv Show

Nezha is a well-known and popular Taoist deity with temples dedicated to him. He is more commonly present in temple celebrations as the Central Marshal of the celestial army. He is also very popular with devotees as Nezha, Third Lotus Prince.

His spirit medium can manifest in various forms and the temple will dress him in appropriate attire; childlike clothes, with lotus designs for the Third Lotus Price manifest and martial wear as the Central Marshal.

Nezha's story has inspired various cartoons and TV serials all with great success.

The Legend Of Nezha

The Legend Of Nezha Download


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In Chinese mythology, Nezha (哪吒) is a precocious teenage deity who serves as a patron saint of young adults. After gestating in his mother’s womb for three years and six months, Nezha was born with superhuman strength and the ability to speak. His Chinese myth is based off of the Hindu god, Nalakuvara.

Etymology

Nezha’s name was originally borrowed from the Hindu god, Nalakuvara, and transliterated in Chinese to Nàluójiūpóluó (那羅鳩婆羅.) Over the years, his name was eventually corrupted and shortened down to Nǎzhā (哪吒), and subsequently romanized to Nezha.

Attributes

Nezha is always depicted as a teenage youth who wears his hair wrapped up in a warrior’s bun. He’s typically shown wielding a large spear while wearing the Wind Fire Wheels on his feet.

Family

Nezha was born to a military commander named Li Jing (who’s also known as the “pagoda-wielding heavenly king”) and a woman called Lady Yin. Nezha has two older brothers named Jinzha and Muzha. The middle brother, Muzha, is eventually murdered by Nezha while trying to defend his father against his younger brother. His eldest brother, Jinzha, becomes a disciple of the bodhisattva Wenshu Guangfa Tianzun who would later stop Nezha from killing his father.

Mythology

According to the Fengshen Yanyi, a historical text known as The Creation of The Gods, Nezha was born during the Shang Dynasty to a military commander and his wife. To say that Nezha had a complicated relationship with his parents would be an understatement.

Origins

His mother, Lady Yin, was pregnant with Nezha for a startling three years and six months. When she gave birth, a meaty ball of flesh emerged from her body. Her husband, thinking that his wife had just given birth to a demon, slashed at the lump of flesh with his sword. A fully grown boy lept from the ball, bowed and greeted his parents.
Shocked at what they had just witnessed, Nezha’s parents froze with fear. However, a Buddhist monk named Taiyi Zhenren who helped deliver Nezha told them not to worry and that they had been blessed with a boy who wielded godly powers. Taiyi Zhenren then decided to take Nezha under his wing as a disciple. Despite the monk’s kind words, Nezha’s parents would always be a little bit uncertain about their youngest son.

Nezha Kills the Dragon King’s Son

One day, Nezha was playing in the surf and noticed a little dragon boy off in the waves. Nezha was a very lonely child. Very few kids were willing to play with him because of the strange circumstances of his birth. So, he threw a ball at the dragon boy and asked him if he wanted to play. The boy, whose name was Ao Bing, was looking for a friend too and joined him on the surf. Nezha, however, didn’t know his own strength accidentally smothered his new friend to death while they were play-fighting.
Little did he know that Ao Bing’s father was the East Sea Dragon King, Ao Guang. 10000 dollar tip. Upon learning of his son’s death, Ao Guang was grief stricken and angry beyond reason. Ao Guang went to Nezha’s parents and demanded retribution—he wanted Nezha to die in return for his son’s own death. Torrential rains began to pour down from the heavens and Ao Guang threatened to flood all of China if he didn’t get what he wanted.
To save his family and everyone else in the country, Nezha chose to commit suicide and give his bones and flesh to Ao Guang as “payment” for his misdeeds. The rains stopped immediately. However Nezha’s soul was uneasy since he died at such a young age and couldn’t cross over to the afterlife. One night, Nezha appeared in a dream to his mother and asked her to build a temple for him so his soul would have a place to rest.

The Legend Of Nezha

Delighted that her son wasn’t truly dead, Lady Yin went and commissioned a temple for her son. His father, however, felt that Nezha had brought too much shame and dishonor to his family, and took a hammer to the temple and tore it down. After seeing what his father had done, Nezha was filled with a murderous rage.
At the same time, Nezha’s master Taiyi Zhenren missed his student so much that he decided to reincarnate him out of a body made from lotus roots. After Nezha was reborn, the monk gifted Nezha a fire-tipped spear and the Wind Fire Wheels that gave him the ability to move at incredible speeds. Nezha immediately went to hunt down his father.
When Nezha’s father saw him coming down the road, he started to run for his life. He found his second youngest son, Muzha, and begged him to defend him against Nezha. Nezha killed his brother without hesitation and was just about to strike down his father when he was stopped by two Buddhas, Wenshu Guangfa Tianzun and Randeng Daoren. Though they agreed that Nezha hadn’t been treated fairly by his father, they reminded him that killing one’s parents was a grave sin. Realizing that they were right, Nezha decided to reconcile with his father instead. Nezha’s story is meant to be an example of filial piety and show that children must respect their parents, no matter the reason or cost to one’s personal pride.

Popular Culture

Nezha is a patron saint of sorts for misfits in society and is especially popular among teenagers. Since he travels around on fiery wheels, he’s also a favorite among taxi drivers and other professional drivers.
Nezha is a prominent figure in Chinese culture and has been featured in a number of TV shows, movies and songs. Perhaps most notably, he was the subject of the popular animated children’s TV show, The Legend of Nezha. He was also featured in Dragon Ball as Chiaotzu and is a character in the video game, Warframe.

References

Citation

The Legend Of Nezha Ep 1 Eng Sub

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