Nezha

The Third Lotus Prince (Photograph by Anandajoti Bhikkhu)

**Nezha** 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.

## Overview

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.

## Appearance

Nezha is often depicted as an youth, instead of an adult. He is often mistaken as an Girl due to his feminine appearance. He is often shown flying in the sky riding on the Wind Fire Wheels, has the Universe Ring around his body (sometimes in his left hand), the Red Armillary Sash around his shoulders and a Fire-tipped Spear in his right hand. Sometimes, he is shown in his "three heads and six arms" form.

## Personality

Due to his hotheaded behaviour, Nezha is often considered an allegorical figure for societal misfits, anti-authority narratives and rebellious youth, making him popular among young people. In addition, because of the fiery wheels he wears on his feet, he's also a symbol of protection among professional drivers.

## Power & Abilities

**Divine Aura:** He can infuse his divine aura into his either of his divine weaponry, which was first noted as he repaired his Univeral Rings after being struck by Vali's attack.

**Immense Strength:** Nezha was extremely powerful, which allowed him to dominate battlefields as a human becoming known as a Hero of Battle. After his ascension, he became stronger than before to the point of being one of the strongest fighters of Mt. Meru, rivaling or surpassing Sun Wukong. During the Azazel Cup, he was considered a transcendental being, however, even he wouldn't remain unharmed if hit by Vali after using his Maoufication, but the latter still couldn't defeat him.

**Immense Speed:** He has immense speed, which is further enhanced by Wind Fire Two Wheels in addition to his honed intuition, letting him avoid all Vali's attacks in his Diabolos Dragon Lucifer, as well as his various aura bombardments and Dividing Wyvern Faeries.

**Master Combatant:** He has tremendous combat skills and experience, having overcome numerous battles, being hailed as a Hero of Battle. He fought on equal ground with Vali using Maoufication, avoiding all of his attacks without being hit himself. He could predict his foes movements from the slightest movement, however, he's more on a divine level.

* **Master Spearman:** Nezha is a master spearman with his signature legendary weapon, the *Fire-tipped Spear*, which he uses as both a melee weapon and a projectile. He could fight on pair with Vali who is the strongest White Dragon Emperor.

## Equipment

**Fire-Tipped Spear** (火尖槍(かせんそう), *Kasen-sō*): One of the four divine weapons, which Prince Nezha wields taking form as a spear able to release flames powerful enough to wound Vali donned in his Diabolos Dragon Lucifer from simply scraping his armor and causing severe damage and leaving him unable to compress them Compression Divider. His Fire-Tipped Spear is able to regenerate from damage using its wielder's aura.

**Universal Rings** (乾坤圏(けんこんけん), *Kenkonken*): One of the four divine weapons, which Prince Nezha wields taking form as bracelets in an inactive state and takes form as chakram in combat. The Universe Rings can move at high-speed and change their paths and behavior at will, which Vali in Diabolos Dragon Lucifer couldn't stop using aura blasts or compressing them. Similar to his other weapons, these rings carries the same strength and regeneration.

**Wind Fire Wheels** (風火二輪(ふうかにりん), *Fūkaniri*): One of the four divine weapons, which Prince Nezha wields taking form of wheels-like items worn at his feet. The Wind Fire Wheels are able to release fire and wind, which allow him to fly around at Godspeed letting him keep up pace with and dodge attacks from Vali in Diabolos Dragon Lucifer.

**Red Armillary Sash** (混天綾(こんてんりょう), *Kontenryō*): One of the four divine weapons, which Prince Nezha wields taking form as a red cloth that releases god aura and water letting him deflect bombardment attacks as powerful as Vali while in Diabolos Dragon Lucifer.

## History

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.

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. 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.

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.

## Myths and Legends

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.