Vesamuni — the Sinhala form of Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera), also called Vessavana — is the divine king of the yakshas in Sri Lankan Buddhism, the great guardian of the north, lord of wealth, and the deity who holds authority over the host of demons and spirits. As the king who commands the yakkhas, Vesamuni is a deity of immense importance in the protective and exorcistic tradition of the island, for it is by his authority that the demons who afflict humankind may be commanded and controlled.
King of the Yakshas
Vesamuni is the Sinhala Buddhist form of Vaiśravaṇa, the Buddhist guardian-king of the north — one of the Cāturmahārājika, the Four Heavenly Kings who guard the four quarters of the world from the slopes of Mount Meru. As Kubera, he is the lord of wealth and treasure; but in the Sri Lankan tradition his most vital role is as the king and overlord of the yakshas (yakkhas) — the demons, spirits, and supernatural beings who fill the island’s folk-cosmology. All the yakkhas are his subjects, bound to his command.
Authority Over the Demons
This lordship over the yakshas makes Vesamuni central to the great Sri Lankan tradition of demon-exorcism and protective ritual. When a person is afflicted by a yakka — struck by the disease-demons such as the dreaded Mahasona or the Sanni Yakku — the exorcist (kattadiya) invokes the authority of Vesamuni, the king of the demons, by whose varam (warrant or licence) the afflicting demon was permitted to act, and by whose superior authority it may be commanded to depart. The whole structure of the island’s exorcistic rites — the great thovil ceremonies — rests upon this chain of authority descending from the Buddha through Vesamuni to the yakshas. Without the warrant of Vesamuni, the demons have no power; by his command, they can be controlled.
Guardian and Lord of Wealth
As Vaiśravaṇa-Kubera, Vesamuni is also the lord of wealth and prosperity, the guardian of the northern quarter, a protector of the Dharma who, like the other Four Heavenly Kings, attended upon the Buddha and pledged to guard his teaching. In Sri Lanka he unites these roles — the wealth-giving guardian-king and the overlord of the demon-host — into a single powerful deity, at once a protector invoked for prosperity and the supreme authority behind the control of the malevolent spirits that the people most feared.
Legacy
Vesamuni endures as one of the most important deities of Sri Lankan Buddhist folk-religion — the king of the yakshas, the Sinhala Vaiśravaṇa, the guardian of the north and lord of wealth, and above all the supreme authority by whose warrant the demons act and by whose command they are exorcised. In him the island’s rich tradition of demon-lore and protective ritual finds its divine keystone. As the king of the demons and guardian of the faithful, Vesamuni remains a deity of profound importance in the spiritual life of Lanka.