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Nezha (哪吒) is a Chinese deity, the enfant terrible of Chinese mythology.
Nezha is often depicted as riding on a pair of wind-fire wheels (much like the modern-day roller-skates). His weapons of choice are the spear and a pair of magic hoops, and he is able to transform himself into three torsos and six arms. Nezha is commonly featured as very young -- almost never an adult, often a child or a youth.
According to folklore, Nezha was originally born a human during the end of the Shang dynasty to General Li Jing.
A free-spirited rebel since young, he stirred up a lot of trouble, including killing the son of the Dragon King. Eventually, to put his parents out of trouble, he had to kill himself for his misdeeds. Nezha was resurrected by his Taoist teacher using the lotus as a building material for his body.
Some traced his origins to the Vedic god Nalakuvara and he is also identified with the Japanese god Nataku.
See also: Chinese mythology
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