Disha

 

"Our breath gives life to our words as much as our actions. Let both matter."

— Disha's advice to Roku.

Disha
Biographical information
Nationality	Eastern Air Temple
Ethnicity	Air Nomad
Residence	Southern Air Temple
Personal information
Pronouns	She/her
Allies	Avatar Roku, Avatar Kyoshi
Weapon of choice	Air
Fighting style	Airbending
Political information
Profession	Nun Airbending instructor
Position	Airbending master of the Avatar
Predecessor	Kelsang (as the Avatar's airbending master)
Successor	Gyatso (as the Avatar's airbending master)
Chronological information
First appearance	Prologue

Disha was a nun and airbending master from the Eastern Air Temple. She was the last airbending companion of Avatar Kyoshi and became the airbending instructor of Avatar Roku when he was in the process of mastering the four elements.

History

Disha was the last Air Nomad companion of Avatar Kyoshi as she neared the end of her life. They had been companions for over 20 years, but Disha parted ways with Kyoshi two years before her death, after she misliked Disha's criticism that many of the conflicts they had to deal with were consequences of Kyoshi's tendency to kill. Disha had expressed concern for what Kyoshi would turn into should she have lived for another century.

While Disha was from the Eastern Air Temple, she left her life there to train Avatar Roku in the Southern Air Temple. She and her bison briefly visited the Fire Nation Royal Palace to take Roku to the temple. For the first few weeks after Roku came to the air temple, Disha refused to teach Roku any airbending. Instead, she took him on various relief missions, where the Avatar learned to how to mend, repair, cook, and clean, while distributing various supplies. While training Roku, she also took a special interest in supporting young Gyatso who struggled with his airbending.

During a humanitarian trip to an Earth Kingdom village that had been struck by a typhoon, Roku questioned Disha about why the Air Nomads did not do more to help the people in need. She reminded him of the several official matters that would need to be taken into account and questioned him about who would ultimately make the big decisions. He also asked her about his lack of training and Disha told him that he was not ready to airbend yet, as he was still thinking like a Fire National instead of an Avatar. She advised that going for a swim in the bay could be part of this process and then proceeded to play with children in the water.

The same evening, she encouraged Roku when he was about to give a speech for the villagers by telling him he was the past Avatars and thus their accomplishments were his accomplishments. When the speech went poorly, he asked if he could be the kind of Avatar who speaks with his actions instead, but Disha told him one's words and actions were equally important.

Some time after her and Roku's return to the Southern Air Temple, Disha learned that Ta Min, a friend of Roku's, had come to the temple in the hope of speaking to him. She suggested that Ta Min be turned away, but Roku chose to receive her. Later, while meditating in her favorite spot within the temple's floating garden, Disha found herself eavesdropping on a conversation between Ta Min and Roku, during which Ta Min relayed a request from Prince Sozin for Roku to intervene in a suspected Earth Kingdom occupation of an uncharted island in Fire Nation territory. Roku turned down the request, but persuaded Ta Min to stay at the temple for a few days, and Ta Min departed shortly afterwards.

Once Ta Min was gone, Disha revealed herself to Roku and indicated she had been listening in on the conversation, remarking that Ta Min would make a formidable diplomat one day. She commended Roku for choosing not to get involved in the territorial dispute Ta Min had spoken of, prompting Roku to ask if he was now ready to learn airbending. Disha answered that he was nearly ready, before reminding Roku that he had spoken as a Fire National in his last assurance to Ta Min, having used the words "our people" and "our land" when speaking of the Fire Nation. The two of them then saw a pie hit a nearby statue, Gyatso having attempted to hit Roku with it. Disha dismissed it as harmless airbending practice when Roku protested, before tasting the pie's remains and calling out to Gyatso that while his aim needed work, his recipe was improving.

Despite her previous apprehension about Ta Min's presence, Disha would go on to bond with her after getting to know her during her stay, even gifting her a set of Air Nomad robes. A week after Ta Min's arrival though, she and Roku were attacked by an earthbender who claimed to have been hired to kill Roku by Earth King Jialun. Both of them survived, but Roku took the attack as proof that Jialun was planning something nefarious, and decided to get involved in the dispute Ta Min mentioned. Disha protested Roku's decision, claiming he was not ready to take up the Avatar's role, that he was acting solely out of anger and a desire for revenge, and that him choosing to intervene in a matter involving the Fire Nation whilst unprepared would both complicate the situation and reflect poorly on him as the Avatar. She insisted that Roku continue assisting the Air Nomads in their relief efforts; Roku pretended to agree, but later snuck out of the temple with Gyatso to travel to the supposed disputed island.

Physical description

Disha was a short and petite older woman. Unlike most Air Nuns, she chose to keep her head completely bald instead of shaving only the front half.

Personality

Disha was serious and wise. She spoke calmly and patiently, often kept her hands clasped behind her back, and had long pauses of silence. She was not didactic in her teaching, but rather had Roku learn through experience. She did not actively push back against him when he voiced his Fire Nation-influenced beliefs, but rather came back to him with critical questions to help him understand that the scope of his understanding about the world was still relatively limited. She understood the complexity of various situations, such as how "doing more good" was dependent on one's definition of "good", and all the various official matters that needed to be taken into account if they were to give more aid to people of different nations.

She believed one needed to "let go of the ground" before they could try flying, refusing to teach Roku airbending before he had developed a more open view of the world and himself. She believed the Avatar should be a spirit of no nation, to the point she believed it was not their responsibility to get involved with territorial disputes over "illusionary boundaries". She tried to help Roku understand the troubles and views of the common folk. She taught him to do basic work like cleaning, mending, repairing, and cooking, and specifically kept him in humble living conditions as part of his training, despite more comfortable conditions being available for the Avatar. In order for him to learn detachment, she advised him to not read letters from his friends and family in the Fire Nation, and made him clean the temple's crematorium.

She turned more stern when she believed Roku was acting out of anger and revenge.

Like other Air Nomads, Sister Disha also had a playful side, laughing when she saw children being chased by turtle ducklings they had previously chased, and when she dove into the water to "save" the children from the turtle ducks.

Appearances

Chronicles of the Avatar

• The Reckoning of Roku

Trivia

• Disha's sky bison was called Amra.

Preceded by Kelsang

Avatar's airbending master 66 BG - unknown

Succeeded by Gyatso