Abhidhamma Teachings
Types of Gods and Their Life-span

LIFE-SPANS OF GODS

The life-span of Gods of the realm of the Four Great Kings is five hundred celestial years, that is, according to human reckoning, 9,000,000 years.

The life-span of the Thirty-three Gods is four times this amount. The life-span of Yãma Gods is four times that of the Thirty-three. Four times that amount is the life-span of the Delightful Gods. Four times that amount is the life-span of the Gods who rejoice in their Creations. Four times that amount is the life-span of the Gods who lord over the Creations of Others.

In the plane of Gods who lord over Others’ Creations, the life-span according to human reckoning, is nine-hundred and twenty-one kotis of years plus sixty-hundred-thousand years (9,216,000,000).

There is no definite limit: In the four planes of woe the life-span is highly variable, depending on the potency of the evil kamma that produces rebirth there. Thus in the hells some undergo torment only for a few days and then pass on to re birth elsewhere, while other must endure torment for millions of years. In the human realm, too, the life-span can vary from minutes to over a hundred years. Further, according to Buddhist cosmology, the average san of human life also varies over time, ranging between a minimum of ten years and a maximum of many thousands of years.

CD – one celestial day (CD) in the Cãtummãhãrãjika heaven equals fifty human years.

CY – 30 such days amount to one celestial month; twelve such months constitute one celestial year (CY)

HY- human year

Life spans in the sense-sphere heavens

There is no definite limit to the duration of life of beings in the four woeful planes, or amongst humans and fallen asuras.

The life-span of Gods of the realm of the Four Great Kings is five hundred celestial years, that is, according to human reckoning, 9,000,000 years.

The life-span of the Thirty-three Gods is four times this amount. The life-span of Yãma Gods is four times that of the Thirty-three. Four times that amount is the life-span of the Delightful Gods. Four times that amount is the life-span of the Gods who rejoice in their Creations. Four times that amount is the life-span of the Gods who lord over the Creations of Others.

In the plane of Gods who lord over Others’ Creations, the life-span according to human reckoning, is nine-hundred and twenty-one kotis of years plus sixty-hundred-thousand years (9,216,000,000).

Life-Spans in the Fine-material Sphere

Among these, the life-span of the Gods of Brahma’s Retinue is one-third of an aeon; of Brahma’s Ministers, half an aeon; of Maha Brahmas, one aeon; of the Gods of Minor Lustre two aeons; of Infinite Lustre four aeons; of Radiant Lustre, eight aeons; of Minor Aura, sixteen aeons; of Infinite Aura, thrity-two aeons; of Steady Aura, sixty-four aeons; of Great Reward and non-percipient beings, 500 aeons; of Durable Gods, 1,000 aeons; of Serene Gods, 2,000 aeons; of Beautiful Gods, 4,000 aeons; of Clear-sighted Gods, 8,000 aeons; of Highest Gods, 16,000 aeons.

An aeon: The Buddhist texts speak of three kinds of aeon- an interim aeon, an incalculable aeon, and a great aeon. An interim aeon is the period of time required for the life-span of human beings to rise from ten years to the maximum of many thousands of years, and then fall back to ten years. Twenty such interim aeons equal one incalculable aeon, and four incalculable aeons constitute one great aeon. The length of a great aeon is said by the Buddha to be longer than the time it would take for a man to wear away a mountain of solid granite one yojana (about 7 miles) high and wide by stroking it once every hundred years with a silk cloth.

According to the commentators, the aeon referred to in the figures on the life-spans in the first-jhana lane is the asankheyyakaa, while the aeon referred to from the Gods of Minor Lustre up through the higher planes is the mahakappa.

Life-spans in the Immaterial Sphere

Among them, the life-span of gods who have attained to the realm of infinite space is 20,000 aeons; of those who have attained to the realm of infinite consciousness, 40,000 aeons; of those who have attained to the realm of nothingness, 60,000 aeons; of those who have attained to the realm of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, 84,000 aeons.

The source for the above material:
Bhikkhu Bodhi, General Editor. A Comprehensive Manual of the Abhidhamma. Copyright © 1993, 1999 by Buddhist Publication Society,
P. O. Box 61, 54 Sangaraja Mawatha, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Used with permission.

THE TYPES OF GODS

The Sensuous Blissful Plane

The sensuous blissful plane is sevenfold, namely:

1. [The human realm]
2. The Realm of the Four Great Kings
3. The Realm of the Thirty-three Gods
4. The Realm of the Yama Gods
5. The Delightful Realm
6. The Realm of Gods who rejoice in (their own) Creations
7. The Realm of Gods who lord over the Creations of Others

The fine-material-sphere plane is sixteenfold, namely:

1. The first jhana plane: 1. the Realm of Brahma’s retinue; 2. the Realm of Brahma’s Ministers; and 3. the Maha Brahma Realm.
2. The second jhana plane: 4. the Realm of Minor Lustre; 5. the Realm of Infinite Lustre; and 6. the Realm of Radiant Lustre.
3. The third jhana plane: 7. the Realm of Minor Aura; 8. the Realm of Infinite Aura; and 9. the Realm of steady Aura.
4. The fourth jhana plane: 10. the Realm of Great Reward; 11. the realm of non-percipient beings, and the Pure Abodes.

The Pure Abodes are fivefold. 12. the Durable Realm; 3. the Serene Realm; 14. the Beautiful Realm; 15. the Clear-sighted Realm; and 6. the Highest Realm.

The Immaterial-Sphere Plane

• The realm of infinite space
• the realm of infinite consciousness
• the realm of nothingness
• the realm of neither-perception-nor-non-percetion

These are the four planes of rebirth for those who, at the time of death, possess an immaterial meditative attainment.Each immaterial attainment leads to rebirth ito the corresponding realm.

[The human realm: The word manussa, human literally means those who have sharp or developed minds. As the human mind is very sharp, this man much more capable of weighty moral and immoral action than any other class of living beings. The human being is capable of development up to Buddhahood, and also of such serious crimes as matricide and parricide. The human realm is a mixture of both pain and pleasure, suffering and happiness. But because it offers the opportunity for attaining the highest happiness, it is considered a blissful realm.]

The Realm of the Four Great Kings: The next six realms are the sense-sphere heavens, the abodes of the devas or gods. These planes involve a longer life-span than the human world and a richer variety of sensual pleasures which, however, are inevitably impermanent.

The Catummaharajika heaven, the Realm of the Four Great Kings, has four divisions corresponding to the four directions. Each is ruled over by its own guardian deity and inhabited by a different class of semi-gods. To the east, the divine king Dhatarattha rules over the gandhabbas, the celestial musicians; to the south, Viirulhaka presides over the kumbhandas, the gnomic caretakers of forests, mountains, and hidden treasures; in the western region the divinity Virupakkha rules over the nagas, demigods in the form of dragons; and in the north reigns Vessavana, ruler of the yakkhas or spirits.

The Realm of the Thirty-three Gods: This heaven, Tavatimsa, is so named because according to legend, a group of thirty-three noble minded men who dedicated their lives to the welfare of others were reborn here as the presiding deity and his thirty two assistants.

The chief of this realm is Sakka, also known as Indra, who resides in the Vejayanta Palace in the realm’s capital city, Sudassana.

The Realm of the Yama Gods, etc.: Each of these heavens is depicted in the celestial hierarchy as situated above its predecessor. The heaven of the Yama gods is a realm of great happiness presided over by their ruler, the divine king Suyama or Yama. Tusita, the Delightful Realm, is the abode of a Bodhisatta in his last existence before attaining Buddhahood. The gods in the Nimmanarati heaven have the power to create objects of sensual enjoyment by thought, in accordance with their desires. The gods of the paranimmitavasavatti realm do not create such objects themselves, but they control the object of enjoyment created for their use by their attendants.

The fine-material-sphere plane is sixteenfold, namely:

1. The first jhana plane: 1. the Realm of Brahma’s retinue; 2. the Realm of Brahma’s Ministers; and 3. the Maha Brahma Realm.
2. The second jhana plane: 4. the Realm of Minor Lustre; 5. the Realm of Infinite Lustre; and 6. the Realm of Radiant Lustre.
3. The third jhana plane: 7. the Realm of Minor Aura; 8. the Realm of Infinite Aura; and 9. the Realm of steady Aura.
4. The fourth jhana plane: 10. the Realm of Great Reward; 11. the realm of non-percipient beings, and the Pure Abodes.

The Pure Abodes are fivefold. 12. the Durable Realm; 3. the Serene Realm; 14. the Beautiful Realm; 15. the Clear-sighted Realm; and 6. the Highest Realm.

The fine-material-sphere is sixteenfold: The fine-material-sphere plane is the realm of rebirth for those who have developed, during their life, one or another of the fine-material jhanas, and at the time of death still possess that jhana in the sense that they still have potential access to it, not having lost it owing to negligence and obsession by obstructive states. This plane is divided into four tiers in accordance with the four jhanas of the Suttanata system. In the Suttas only four jhanas are mentioned, as the transition from the first to the second jhana takes lace by the simultaneous abandoning of initial application and sustained application. Thus the second-jhana plane of existence corresponds to the second and third jhanas of the Abhidhamma system, the third-jhana plane to the fourth jhana, and the fourth-jhana lane to the fifth jhana.

Each of the four jhana planes is divided into three realms, except that in the fourth-jhana planed the last realm is subdivided into five abodes. The principle according to which rebirth takes place into the jhana realms is explained below.

The Pure Abodes are five realms of rebirth open only to non-returners, noble disciples who have attained the third stage of sanctity. Those who take rebirth in these abodes never return to the lower realms but attain final deliverance there.

The Immaterial-Sphere Plane

• The realm of infinite space
• the realm of infinite consciousness
• the realm of nothingness
• the realm of neither-perception-nor-non-percetion

These are the four planes of rebirth for those who, at the time of death, possess an immaterial meditative attainment.Each immaterial attainment leads to rebirth ito the corresponding realm.

By way of Individuals

In the Pure Abodes no worldlings, stream-enterers, or once-returners are found in any way.

Noble ones are not found in the non-percipient realm and in the woeful planes. In other lanes are found both noble ones and non-noble ones.

Herein, these are the four planes.

The source for the above material:
Bhikkhu Bodhi, General Editor. A Comprehensive Manual of the Abhidhamma. Copyright © 1993, 1999 by Buddhist Publication Society, P. O. Box 61,
54 Sangaraja Mawatha, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Used with permission.

Related Topic (link):
The Rebirth of Gods in other Planes of Existence