Deva Kings on:  
[Wikipedia]  
[Google]  
[Amazon]
The Four Heavenly Kings are four
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
gods
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...
, each of whom is believed to watch over one
cardinal direction
The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at ...
of the world. In
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions.
Much of t ...
, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ancient language
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, they are called the "Chaturmahārāja" (चतुर्महाराज) or "Chaturmahārājikādeva": "Four Great Heavenly Kings". The
Hall of Four Heavenly Kings
The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings or Four Heavenly Kings Hall (), referred to as Hall of Heavenly Kings, is the first important hall inside a shanmen (mount gate) in Chinese Buddhist temples and is named due to the Four Heavenly Kings statues enshr ...
is a standard component of
Chinese Buddhist
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including Chinese art, art, politics, Ch ...
temples
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
.
Names
The Kings are collectively named as follows:
The Four Heavenly Kings are said to currently live in the Cāturmahārājika heaven (
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
: Cātummahārājika, "Of the Four Great Kings") on the lower slopes of Mount
Sumeru
Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...
, which is the lowest of the six worlds of the
devas
Devas may refer to:
* Devas Club, a club in south London
* Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter
* Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist
* Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club
* Devas (band), ...
of the
Kāmadhātu. They are the protectors of the world and fighters of evil, each able to command a legion of supernatural creatures to protect the
Dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
.
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...
of Thailand" heights="250px" perrow="4">
File:Guardian of Phra Meru Mas of Bhumibol Adulyadej - Vessavana (right side).jpg, Vaiśravaṇa of the north direction, king of yakṣas.
File:Guardian of Phra Meru Mas of Bhumibol Adulyadej - Virulhaka (right side).jpg, Virūḍhaka of the south direction, king of kumbhāṇḍas.
File:Guardian of Phra Meru Mas of Bhumibol Adulyadej - Dhatarattha (left side).jpg, Dhṛtarāṣṭra of the east direction, king of gandharvas.
File:Guardian of Phra Meru Mas of Bhumibol Adulyadej - Virupakkha (left side).jpg, Virūpākṣa of the west direction, king of nāgas.
Mythology
All four Kings serve
, the lord of the devas of . On the 8th, 14th and 15th days of each
lunar month
In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month.
Variations
In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Europ ...
, the Kings either send out emissaries or go themselves to inspect the state of virtue and morality in the world of men. Then they report their findings to the assembly of the devas.
On the orders of Śakra, the Kings and their retinues stand guard to protect from another attack by the
Asuras
Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...
, which once threatened to destroy the realm of the devas. They also vowed to protect the Buddha, the
Dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
, and the Buddha's followers from danger. In Chinese Buddhism, all four of the heavenly kings are regarded as four of the ''
Twenty Devas'' (二十諸天 Èrshí Zhūtiān) or the ''
Twenty-Four Devas'' (二十四諸天 Èrshísì zhūtiān), a group of Buddhist dharmapalas who manifest to protect the Dharma.
According to
Vasubandhu
Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; floruit, fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and scholar from ''Puruṣapura'' in ancient India, modern day Peshawar, Pakistan. He was a philosopher who ...
, devas born in the Cāturmahārājika heaven are 1/4 of a
krośa in height (about 750 feet tall). They have a five-hundred-year lifespan, of which each day is equivalent to 50 years in our world; thus their total lifespan amounts to about nine million years (other sources say 90,000 years).
The attributes borne by each King also link them to their followers; for instance, the
nāga
The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...
s, magical creatures who can change form between human and serpent, are led by , represented by a snake; the
gandharva
A gandharva () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are ...
s are celestial musicians, led by , represented with a lute. The umbrella was a symbol of regal sovereignty in ancient India, and the sword is a symbol of martial prowess. 's mongoose, which ejects jewels from its mouth, is said to represent generosity in opposition to greed.
Lingyin Temple
Lingyin Temple () is a Buddhist temple of the Chan sect located north-west of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The temple's name is commonly literally translated as Temple of the Soul's Retreat. It is one of the largest and wealthiest Buddhis ...
,