1.
carnage; fierce conflict; bloodshed
A scene of intense, violent conflict or fighting. Used metaphorically for any situation of extreme turmoil or ferocious competition.
戦場は修羅と化した。
The battlefield turned into a scene of carnage.
修羅場をくぐり抜けてきた人間は強い。
People who have been through hellish ordeals are strong.
選挙戦は修羅のような争いになった。
The election campaign became a brutal battle.
2.
Asura; warlike demigod in Buddhist cosmology
One of the six realms of Buddhist rebirth. Asuras are powerful beings consumed by jealousy and rage, perpetually at war.
仏教では修羅は争いの絶えない世界とされる。
In Buddhism, the realm of the Asuras is said to be a world of endless conflict.
六道の一つに修羅道がある。
The Asura realm is one of the six paths of rebirth.
修羅の如き形相で相手をにらんだ。
He glared at his opponent with a fearsome, demon-like expression.
USAGE:
The compound 修羅場 (literally "Asura battlefield") is extremely common in everyday Japanese, meaning a hellish scene, a dramatic confrontation, or a relationship crisis (e.g., being caught cheating). In casual speech 修羅場 is often shortened to シュラバ.
KEY COMPOUNDS:
- 修羅場 (hellish scene; dramatic confrontation)
- 修羅道 (Asura realm in Buddhism)
- 阿修羅 (Asura — the full Sanskrit-derived form)
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 修羅と化す (to turn into carnage)
- 修羅の如く (like a scene of carnage)
- 修羅場をくぐる (to go through a hellish ordeal)