弁才天Benzaiten

Benzaiten (弁才天／弁財天; Japanese pronunciation:), or simply Benten (弁天;), is an East Asian Buddhist dharmapāla who has been adopted into Mahayana from Hindu goddess Saraswati, the patroness of speech, the arts, and learning.

Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the sixth to eighth centuries, mainly via Classical Chinese translations of the Golden Light Sutra (Sanskrit: Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra), which has a section devoted to her. Benzaiten was also syncretized with Japanese kami and adopted into the Shinto religion, with several Shinto shrines dedicated to her. As such, she is now also associated with dragons, snakes, many local deities, wealth, fortune, protection from disease and danger, and the protection of the state.

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