Gandharva- Buddhist RaceRace"Celestial Musicians"

Fragrance Eaters

The gandharvas dwell in the lowest desire heaven under Dhritarashtra, the Heavenly King of the East, and serve as musicians to the gods. Their bodies emit sweet fragrance, and fragrance is what sustains them. The Tibetan name dri za means "scent eater." They are one of the eight classes of supernatural beings who attend the Buddha and protect the dharma, and when the sutras describe celestial gatherings, it is the gandharvas who provide the music.

Between Death and Birth

The word "gandharva" has a second meaning in Buddhist doctrine. According to the Abhidharma literature, a being in the intermediate state between death and rebirth exists as a gandharva: a subtle form of consciousness seeking a new birth. It is drawn to couples whose karmic conditions match its own and enters the womb at the moment of conception. The term connects the celestial musicians to one of Buddhism's most precise teachings on how rebirth works: three conditions must converge for conception to occur. The parents must unite, it must be the mother's fertile period, and the gandharva must be present.