Lifespan of devas from Cātummahārājikā

General Theravada topics
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Hello everyone,
Is the lifespan of devas in Cātummahārājikā 90,000 or 9 million years? I was pretty sure it was 9 million, but recently, I’ve read that it’s just 90,000 years.

Thank you in advance!

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From the vibhanga Pali,
navuti vassasatasahassāni

90×100,000

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We had this in our pali reading exam last semester… here are the notes.

Vibhaṅga
6. uppādakakammaāyuppamāṇavāra

  1. uppādakakamma – kamma that gives rebirth
  2. devāti. tayo devā there are three types of deities –
    sammutidevā conventional deities, upapattidevā, deities by birth visuddhidevā, holy person.
    sammutidevā nāma – rājāno kings, deviyo queens, kumārā princes.
    upapattidevā nāma – cātumahārājike deve upādāya tadupari devā deities starting from catumahārājika and above are deities by birth.
    visuddhidevā nāma – arahanto vuccanti the arahants are called holy persons.
    dānaṃ datvā, having given gift sīlaṃ samādiyitvā having undertaken sīla, uposathakammaṃ katvā having done uposathakamma kattha upapajjanti where are they reborn?
    dānaṃ datvā having given offering, sīlaṃ samādiyitvā having undertaken sīla, uposathakammaṃ katvā having done uposathakamma
    • appekacce some khattiyamahāsālānaṃ sahabyataṃ upapajjanti are reborn in the companionship of wealthy men of the ruling caste,
    • appekacce brāhmaṇamahāsālānaṃ sahabyataṃ upapajjanti some are reborn in the companionship of wealthy men of the Brahman caste,
    • appekacce gahapatimahāsālānaṃ sahabyataṃ upapajjanti some are reborn in the companionship of wealthy householders,
    • appekacce cātumahārājikānaṃ devānaṃ sahabyataṃ upapajjanti
    • appekacce tāvatiṃsānaṃ devānaṃ sahabyataṃ upapajjanti,
    • appekacce yāmānaṃ devānaṃ sahabyataṃ upapajjanti,
    • appekacce tusitānaṃ devānaṃ sahabyataṃ upapajjanti,
    • appekacce nimmānaratīnaṃ devānaṃ sahabyataṃ upapajjanti,
    • appekacce paranimmitavasavattīnaṃ devānaṃ sahabyataṃ upapajjanti.
  3. āyuppamāṇaṃ - lifespan
  4. manussānaṃ kittakaṃ yattaka tattaka ettaka āyuppamāṇaṃ how long is the life span of human?
    vassasataṃ, appaṃ vā bhiyyo, 100 years or a little more.
  5. cātumahārājikānaṃ devānaṃ kittakaṃ āyuppamāṇaṃ how long is the life span of catumahārājika devas?
    yāni mānusakāni paññāsa vassāni whichever 50 years related to humans, cātummahārājikānaṃ devānaṃ eso eko rattindivo this is one day and night of cātumahārājika devas .
    tāya rattiyā tiṃsa rattiyo māso a month is 30 nights by that nights.
    tena māsena dvādasamāsiyo saṃvaccharo by that month 12 months is 1 year.
    tena saṃvaccharena by that year dibbāni pañca vassasatāni 500 divine years cātummahārājikānaṃ devānaṃ āyuppamāṇaṃ is the lifespan of cātumahārājika devas.
    manussānaṃ gaṇanāya kittakaṃ hoti how much according to the human counting?
    navuti vassasatasahassāni. 90 hundred thousand years or 9 million years.
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@bksubhuti @Namyal
Thank you so much for answering. Wow, it must be so nice to be a deva. They can live for such a long time.

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Hello Venerable Sir,
Could you send me the rest of the notes as well? I want to learn Pali and I’m interested to read about higher realms.

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Could be that the subjective time is just 500 years.

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From the Lao monk… not me. He made a study guide for the final.

My note for upcoming test(cakkhupālavatthu & Vibhaṅga).pdf (201.3 KB)

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Thank you so much, Venerable Sir.

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