Lit. Great Sun. Translation of the Sk. Mahavairocana "(Great) Illuminating One"; also translated as (Dai)Henjō (大)遍照 "(Great) Universally Illuminating One" or transliterated as (Maka)Birushana (摩訶)昆盧遮那. The central and supreme deity of the pantheon of Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教. In origin, he has been linked to an ancient sun cult and to the Zoroastrian god of light, Ahura Mazda, and in Bradmanical literature, the appellation Vairocana appears, for example, as the name of a legendary king and of the king of the asuras *Ashura 阿修羅. In Buddhism, he assumes a central role in the Kegonkyō 華厳経 (Sk: Avatamsaka-sutra; see *Rushanabutsu 盧舎那仏), and then with the development of Esoteric Buddhism he eventually took the place of *Shaka 釈迦 as expositor of the Buddhist teachings, becoming the central figure in the Esoteric Buddhist pantheon as represented by the Womb World Mandala *Taizōkai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅 and *Kongōkai mandara 金剛界曼荼羅. In Japan Dainichi also figures among the so-called Thirteen Buddhas *jūsanbutsu 十三仏, presiding over the memorial service held on the 12th anniversary of a person's death. Dainichi differs iconographically from other Buddhas in that he is represented in the form of bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩, seated, wearing silk robes and accessories such as armlets and bracelets, and having long locks of hair. He also wears a five-wisdom bejeweled crown *gochi hōkan 五智宝冠 on his head, symbolizing his identity with the Five Buddhas gobutsu 五仏 and the five wisdoms attributed to them *gochi nyorai 五智如来, and he may be identified by his distinctive hand-gestures: in the Taizōkai mandara he forms the concentration seal of the Dharma-realm *hokkai-jōin 法界定印, with both hands lying on his lap, right on top of left, palms upward and thumbs touching, while in the Kongōkai mandara he forms the seal of the knowledge fist *chiken-in 智拳印, with the clenched right hand posed over the extended index finger of the otherwise clenched left hand. He is generally colored white, and his distinctive animal vehicle *chōjūza 鳥獣座 is the lion; his standard seed-syllable, shuji 種子 in the Taizōkai mandara is '栄' (Jp: aku 惡) and in the Kongōkai mandara 'vam' ban 鑁, and his symbol, sanmayagyō 三昧耶形 is a stupa *tō 塔. Owing to the strength of the Shingon 真言 sect during the Heian period, there are many fine examples of images of Dainichi dating from this period, and in many cases he is found enshrined in a stupa (often the type known as a *tahōtō 多宝塔), either alone or as the central figure of a pentad consisting of the five Buddhas; images according with his features in the Kongōkai mandara are found to predominate.