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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, 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 ...
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 ...
, 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 languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
, they are called the "Chaturmahārāja" (चतुर्महाराज) or "Chaturmahārājikādeva": "Four Great Heavenly Kings". The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhist 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'' Buddh ...
: 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 Grea ...
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 Eur ...
, 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་ ; fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Buddhist monk and scholar from ''Puruṣapura'' in ancient India, modern day Peshawar, Pakistan. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary ...
, 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 gandharvas 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,
Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...
,
Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
."> File:Lingyin temple 06.jpg, Duōwén Tiānwáng (North) File:Hangzhou-Lingyin-Tempel-04-Waechter-2012-gje.jpg, Zēngzhǎng Tiānwáng (South) File:Lingyin temple 04.jpg, Chíguó Tiānwáng (East) File:Lingyin temple 07.jpg, Guăngmù Tiānwáng (West) Jikō-ji, Takasago, Hyōgo,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
." perrow="4"> Image:Jikoji jikokuten.JPG, Jikoku-ten (east) Image:Jikoji zochoten.JPG, Zōjō-ten (south) Image:Jikoji komokuten.JPG, Kōmoku-ten (west) Image:Jikoji tamonten.JPG, Tamon-ten (north)


Popular culture

*In first seasons of ''Sailor Moon'', and ''Sailor Moon Crystal'', the Four Heavenly Kings were the four loyal and faithfully devoted generals and bodyguards of Prince Endymion. *The third movie of Detective Dee, by Tsui Hark, "Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings" (2018) (traditional Chinese: 狄仁傑之四大天王; simplified Chinese: 狄仁杰之四大天王). *In
Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of what each of thos ...
, the group of Pokémon trainers known as the
Elite Four In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...
in English are called the Four Heavenly Kings (四天王) in Japanese. In
Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
, the leading members of Shadaloo known as the Grand Masters in English are known as the Four Heavenly Kings (四天王). They consist of M. Bison (Vega in Japanese),
Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, a ...
(Balrog in Japanese),
Balrog A Balrog () is a powerful demonic monster in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. One first appeared in print in his high-fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings'', where the Fellowship of the Ring encounter a Balrog known as Durin's Bane in the Min ...
(M. Bison in Japanese), Sagat (formerly), and
F.A.N.G. is a character in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' series. He made his first appearance in '' Street Fighter V'' as one of sixteen playable characters at the game's launch in 2016. Within series lore, F.A.N.G. is an assassin who uses poison techniqu ...


See also

*
Anemoi In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi ( Greek: , 'Winds') were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came (see Classical compass winds), and were each associated with various seasons ...
* Bacab * Four Dwarves (Norse mythology) * Four Holy Beasts * Four Living Creatures * Four sons of Horus * Four Stags (Norse mythology) * Four Symbols *
Four temperaments The four temperament theory is a proto-psychological theory which suggests that there are four fundamental personality types: sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic. Most formulations include the possibility of mixtures among the types w ...
* Guardians of the directions * Lokapala * Royal stars *
Svetovid Svetovit, Sventovit, Svantovit is the god of abundance and war, and the chief god of the Slavic tribe of the Rani, and later of all the Polabian Slavs. His organized cult was located on the island of Rügen, at Cape Arkona, where his main tem ...
*
Tetramorph A tetramorph is a symbolic arrangement of four differing elements, or the combination of four disparate elements in one unit. The term is derived from the Greek ''tetra'', meaning four, and ''morph'', shape. In Christian art, the tetramorph is t ...
*
Watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...


References

* Chaudhuri, Saroj Kumar. ''Hindu Gods and Goddesses in Japan''. New Delhi: Vedams eBooks (P) Ltd., 2003. . * Nakamura, Hajime. ''Japan and Indian Asia: Their Cultural Relations in the Past and Present''. Calcutta: Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay, 1961. Pp. 1–31. * Potter, Karl H., ed. ''The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies'', volume 9. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970–. , (set). * Thakur, Upendra. ''India and Japan: A Study in Interaction During 5th cent.–14th cent. A.D.''. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1992. . Pp. 27–41.


External links

* Schumacher, Mark
"Shitenno - Four Heavenly Kings (Deva) of Buddhism, Guarding Four Cardinal Directions"
''Digital Dictionary of Buddhism in Japan''. {{Burmese nats Buddhist cosmology Journey to the West characters Quartets Buddhist deities Dharmapalas