Gandhara

In Shaman King, Gandhara is a Buddhist pacifist organization that is participating in the Shaman Fight. Led by Lady Sati, they are the third great faction in the current Tournament, and aim to prevent Hao from becoming the Shaman King.

History
Gandhara is arguably the oldest organization in Shaman King (excepting the Patch themselves), with a history dating well before the birth of Christ. They rose to prominence 2500 years before the current tournament, when their chosen candidate won the Shaman Tournament of that era.

In the current Shaman Tournament, Gandhara has participated to save all of humanity and prevent Hao from becoming the Shaman King, who plans to rid the world of all non-shamans. To this end, they have fielded three teams, all of which have made the top 8. Their current goal is to train 5 Elemental Warriors, who will wield the 5 Elemental Spirits to defeat Hao while he is integrating with the Great Spirit, and is thus at his most vulnerable.

Ideologies
As a Buddhist organization, Gandhara is pacifist by nature. They are completely neutral in outlook, and is described as the 'middle way' straddling the two extremes of the X-Laws and Hao. However, they also will not hesitate to use force when needed, but only as a last resort, and even then only enough to meet their objectives.

Abilities and Powers
All the members of the Gandhara are Kami-class Shamans, and are as such incredibly powerful. All their guardian spirits are those of Bodhisattvas (Bosatsu), in adherence to their faith. As pacifists, they possess furyoku-nullification abilities, which enable them to defeat opponents without inflicting violence.

Lady Sati

 * Spirit: Dainichi Nyorai (or Tathagata Nyorai)


 * The leader of Gandhara and accessorily also of Tathagata, Lady Sati is a princess, in her mid-thirties (born on December 31st 1963), of Japansese origin. She wears an orange dress with a crown, holding a staff (she is represented like this in the cover of Book 26 of the Manga; in typical attire of a high monkess or priestess of the Nyorai order) which most likely serves as a medium to host her spirit. Her blood type is A, and her favourite pass-time is travelling.


 * She has the ability to resurrect the dead. Her furyoku level is very high, almost reaching that of Hao's, most likely explaining why she has such powers. She briefly appears in the Manga (e.g. Books 13, 19) and then in Book 22, where Lady Sati (mounted on an elephant) and most of the other shamans from the group were represented when they save Ryu from certain death, by interfering against Team Tsukigumi. Again Thatagata is seen in Book 24, when they defeated, apparently with ease, Thaiti-800 during the Shaman Fight. Later on in the Manga, Lady Sati travels to hell and fights Enma Daioh, one of the four Kings of Hell and the Guardian of the Spirit of Earth.


 * Ironically, in the Anime Lady Sati seems to be represented as a young girl of 10 years of age. But, another shaman, by the name of Gekkou also ressembles Lady Sati, in a much more mature form. This seems to be more true to her portait in the Manga. She wears a Kimono and is accompanied by two other shamans, Fudou, a young red haired boy, and Nikkou, an old man. (in the Anime, in Episode 54, Tsukigumi shamans kill single-handedly both Gekkou and Nikkou; Hao takes the upper hand by easily killing an enraged Fudou)

Daiei

 * Spirit: Probably the Bodhisattva Manjusri or Samantabhadra


 * Daiei is a senior priest, of Chinese origin, who is the oldest member of Gandhara. He was born on October 6th 1923. He fancies toofu ryoori and his favourite pass-time is to mimic sutras. Due to his wisdom, it appears that he is Sati's advisor. He is short, bold, and accompanies Lady Sati wherever she goes. His spirit is similar to Komeri's, but is not seen in the Manga.

Komeri

 * Spirit: Probably the Bodhisattva Manjusri or Samantabhadra


 * Komeri is a young girl of Indian origin. She is born on February 1 1994, making her the the youngest shaman affiliated to Gandhara). her blood type is B, and her favourite pass-time is to make chains (with beads), as she is seen to always wear one. She is the final member of Tathagata, also following Lady Sati weherever she goes, and her spirit is similar to Daiei's but is not seen in the Manga.

Yainage

 * Spirit: Kundali (Gundari)


 * Yainage is a Buddhist monk of Indian origin who was born on October 29th 1963 (making him slighty older than Lady Sati). His favourite pass-time is bird watching.


 * He is the weakest member of Team Myo-o, even though shamans affiliated to Gandhara have special powers (later Pascal Avaf explains that to team "The Ren") enabling them to block all sorts of shamanic attacks (or annul them). He is defeated by Tao Ren in the battle against Team "The Ren" when his Furoku level bypassed his. He later travels to hell and defeats the King of Hell responsible for guarding the Spirit of Rain.

Jackson

 * Spirit: Acala (Fudo). Ironically, in the Anime, Fudou is the name of the red haired Shaman representing the spirit robber group affiliated to Gandhara.


 * Jackson, a monk of Chinese origin, is born on August 20th 1970. His blood type is B, he fancies Amaguri, and also seems to be good at Tai Chi Chuan. He is tougher than Yainage, making him one of the strongest members of Team Myo-o. He would do almost anything for Lady Sati, and really got angry at Yainage, when he lost againt Tao Ren.


 * Inspite of being a strong member of Myo-o, he was defeated by Horohoro in the battle against Team "The Ren". He later travels to hell and defeats the King of Hell responsible for guarding the Spirit of Thunder.

Cado

 * Spirit: Ragaraja (Aizen)


 * Cado is a Buddhist monk of Indian origin. He is one of the oldest members of Gandhara, as he is born on December 12 1953. He fancies chicken curry, and his favourite pass-time is to create new fighting techniques, while dancing. Due to his temperment, he appears to be the calmest of all three members of Team Myo-o.


 * He is defeated by Horohoro in the battle against Team "The Ren". He later travels to hell and defeats Mephistopheles, one of the four Kings of Hell and the Guardian of the Spirit of Wind.

Seikyou

 * A bald monk. Nothing but his name is known at this point.

Ian Li

 * Ian Li is a business man, and is the only shaman affiliated to Gandhara to wear a suit and tie. He is seen to ride an elephant. Nothing but his name is known at this point.

Mami

 * A young girl with freckles. Nothing but her name is known at this point.

Trivia

 * All of their spirits are based upon Budhistic gods.