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Protection deity in Chinese folk religion

Nezha (lang=zh) is a protection deity in Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (中壇元帥). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" (蓮花三太子) after he became a deity.

According to Fengshen Yanyi, Nezha was born during the Shang dynasty in a military fortress at Chentang Pass. His father was a military commander Li Jing, who later became the "Pagoda wielding Heavenly King". Nezha's mother, Lady Yin, gave birth to a ball of flesh after gestating for three years and six months. Li Jing thought his wife had given birth to a demon and attacked the ball with his sword. The ball split open, and Nezha jumped out as a boy instead of an infant. Nezha could speak and walk immediately after birth. He was later accepted by the immortal Taiyi Zhenren as a student. He had two older brothers, Jinzha, a disciple of Wenshu Guangfa Tianzun, and Muzha. One day, the people of Chentang Pass asked for rain and sacrificed much food to the East Sea Dragon King Ao Guang. The King rejected the food, instead, wanting girls and boys to eat. He sent Li Gen to capture for him a girl and a boy. Nezha and two other children were playing by the sea when Li Gen appeared and captured one of Nezha's friends. Nezha then fought him and injured him severely, causing him to return to the King and beg for someone else to take care of Nezha. The Dragon King sent Ao Bing, his third son, whom Nezha then slew in combat. Ao Guang called for his brothers and confronted Nezha and his family. He threatened to flood Chentang Pass and report Nezha to the Jade Emperor. To save his family and the people, Nezha killed himself then, carving up his own flesh and dismembering his bones "returning" these to his parents in repayment for the debt of his birth. The Dragon Kings then hosted a huge celebration. Nezha then appeared in his mother's dream. In the dream, he asked her to build a temple for him, so that his soul would have a place to rest. This constitutes a link to Nezha's birth because the night before Nezha was born, Lady Yin had a dream where a Taoist put something into her bosom and told her to take this child. In both instances, a dream was used to communicate a message. His mother then secretly built a temple for Nezha, and this temple later flourished. This temple became well known and grew vastly because Nezha granted miracle cures to the sick and the crippled. However, Li Jing soon found out about this temple and burned it down because he was still angry at Nezha and felt that he had already caused too much trouble for their family. Li Jing burning the temple caused Nezha to desire his father's death. Thus, the enmity between father and son grew. Nezha was later brought back to life by his teacher, Taiyi Zhenren, who used lotus roots to construct a human body for his soul and gave him two new weapons: the Wind Fire Wheels (風火輪) and the Fire tipped Spear (火尖槍). With the reincarnation of Nezha by his master, Li Jing and Nezha fought many battles. However, Li Jing soon realized that his mortal body was no match for Nezha and so he ran for his life. On the run, he met his second son, Muzha, who fought and was defeated by Nezha. At this, Li Jing attempted suicide but was stopped by Wenshu Guangfa Tianzun, who also contained Nezha. In the end, Nezha was forced to submit to his father by another deity, Randeng Daoren. Though according to The Journey to the West, Nezha was born with the word Ne written on the palm of his left hand and zha on his right, hence his name. But after he caused havoc in the Eastern Ocean, the Heavenly King had been so worried about the disastrous consequences that he decided to kill Nezha. Thus Nezha returned his flesh and blood to his mother and bones to his father. Then Nezha's soul went to the Buddha, who resurrected him. After, he used his vast powers to subdue 96 caves of demons through dharma. After this Nezha wanted to kill his father because he had to remove every piece of flesh and every stain of blood to return his bones to his father. The heavenly king had no choice but to seek help from the Buddha. The Buddha gave him an intricately made golden pagoda, in each story of which were Buddhas radiant with splendor. The Buddha told Nezha to regard these Buddhas as his father. Thus ending the hatred between the father and the son. Thus earning Li Jing the title Pagoda Bearing Heavenly king.

Nezha is often depicted as a youth, instead of an adult. He is often shown flying in the sky riding on the Wind Fire Wheels (風火輪), has the Universe Ring (乾坤圈) around his body (sometimes in his left hand), the Red Armillary Sash (浑天绫) around his shoulders and a Fire tipped Spear (火尖槍) in his right hand. Sometimes, he is shown in his "three heads and six arms" form (三頭六臂). He has the ability to spit rainbows in some legends.

According to Meir Shahar, the name Nezha comes from Nalakuvara, depicted as a heroic yaksha general in the Mahamayuri. The link to Nalakuvara is established through variants in his Chinese name appearing in translations of Tantric Buddhist Texts. The original variant Naluojiupoluo (那羅鳩婆羅) changed to Naluojubaluo (捺羅俱跋羅), Nazhajuwaluo (那吒矩韈囉) and finally Nazha (那吒). The simple addition of the "mouth radical" (口) to Na (那) changes the name to the current form Nezha (哪吒). In addition, Nalakuvara's father Kubera was eventually absorbed into the Buddhist pantheon as the Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa. Shahar notes that Vaisravana was somehow connected to the historical Tang Dynasty general Li Jing. This explains the name and position of Nezha's father, the Pagoda Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing. The second figure is the child god Krishna. Both Krishna and Nezha are powerful children that defeat mighty serpents, Kaliya in the case of the former and Ao Bing in the latter. The Bhagavata Purana describes how Nalakubar was rescued from imprisonment within a tree by Krishna, suggesting a link between the two figures. A 10th century Tantric Buddhist sutra also mentions a child god that seems to be an amalgam of Krishna and Nalakuvara called Nana (那拏).

Nezha is worshipped in Chinese folk religion and is called "Marshal of the Central Altar" or "Prince Nezha", the "Third Prince". As in traditional folklore, Nezha flies around swiftly on his wind fire wheels, so he is also regarded as the tutelary god of many professional drivers, like trucks, taxis, or sightseeing bus drivers. They tend to place a small statue of Nezha in the vehicles for a safe drive. Nezha is also often regarded as the patron god of children and filial piety. Parents would make an offering to Nezha with the hope that their children would grow up strong, healthy, and be dutiful and respectful.

Nezha has frequently appeared in Chinese mythology and ancient Chinese literature such as Fengshen Yanyi (or Investiture of the Gods), although the story of Nezha Conquering the Sea is the most well known among Chinese households. In Journey to the West, Nezha was a general under his father, "Pagoda wielding Heavenly King" Li Jing. He fought the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, when the latter rebelled against the Jade Emperor. They later became friends. Nezha made some appearances in the novel to help the four protagonists defeat powerful demons including his adoptive sister, Lady Earth Flow.

Nezha is a playable character in Koei Tecmo's crossover series Warriors Orochi. The series features two different versions of Nezha, a cyborg and his human self. Ne Zha is a playable character in the multiplayer online battle arena video game Smite, where he is a melee assassin. On December 16, 2015, third person shooter action game Warframe released a playable character named and themed after Nezha. Nezha is also a collectible character in Netmarble's mobile RPG Seven Knights where the character, while depicted as female, retains much of Nezha's mythos and characteristics. Nezha is also a summonable Heroic Spirit in the popular Japanese hero collector game Fate/Grand Order where she can be summoned as a Lancer class Servant. In the game, she is depicted as a female automaton. The game's second storyline, Cosmos in the Lostbelt, explores an alternate history where Qin Shi Huang successfully becomes immortal by studying her body, allowing him to rule China into the present day. Nezha is also a summonable Astromon in the Korean creature capture game Monster Super League developed by 4:33 and Creative Labs. In the game, he is depicted as female. Nezha is also a summonable character in the Japanese LGBT+ Mobile Game Tokyo Afterschool Summoners developed by Lifewonders. Within the game he is depicted as non binary. In 2022, the video game Overwatch (2016), made a skin based on Nezha for a female character as part of the Lunar New Year Event. In the 2022 mobile game Dislyte, The character Li Ling is given the powers of Nezha.

Nezha, with his fire tipped spear, is the title character in the casino game "The Third Prince." The game's battle feature draws on elements of Nezha's story. Nezha is a recurring character in R. F. Kuang's 2018 novel The Poppy War and her trilogy of the same name. In the series Nezha is the second son of a powerful Warlord in a country loosely based on China.