Four Heavenly Kings

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In the Buddhist faith, the Four Heavenly Kings are four guardian gods, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world. They are collectively named as follows:

• Sanskrit – Devarāja "king of gods" or Lokapāla "guardian of the world"
• Chinese – Tiānwáng (天王) "Heavenly kings" or Sì Tiānwáng (四天王) "Four heavenly kings"
• Korean – Cheonwang (천왕) "Heavenly kings" or Sacheonwang (사천왕) "Four heavenly kings"
• Japanese – Shitennō (四天王) "Four heavenly kings"
• Tibetan – rgyal.chen bzhi "Four great kings"

They reside in the Cāturmahārājika heaven (Pāli Cātummahārājika, "Of the Four Great Kings") on the lower slopes of Mount Sumeru, which is the lowest of the six worlds of the devas 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. They are:

Sanskrit Name

." /> Virūpākṣa}}. According to Vasubandhu, devas born in the Cāturmahārājika heaven are 1/4 of a krośa in height (about 750 feet tall). They also 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). In Chinese they are known collectively as "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" ( 風調雨順 / 风调雨顺 ), which translates into "Good Climate". This mnemonic reminds one of the symbols the Heavenly Kings carry. For instance, "Fēng" sounds like the Chinese word for "edge" (鋒/锋), hence the corresponding symbol is a sword. "Tiáo" sounds like "Tune", hence the corresponding symbol is a musical instrument. "Yǔ" means "rain", hence the corresponding symbol is an umbrella. "Shùn" refers to the symbol of a crimson dragon (赤龙). These symbols also link the deities to their followers; for instance, the nāgas, magical creatures who can change form between human and serpent, are led by Virūpākṣa, represented with a snake; the gandharvas are celestial musicians, led by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, represented with a lute. The umbrella was a symbol of regal sovereignty in ancient India, and the sword is a symbol of martial prowess. Vaiśravaṇa's mongoose, which ejects jewels from its mouth, is said to represent generosity in opposition to greed. See also Guardians of the directions Five elements (Chinese philosophy) Ssŭ Ling Buddhism Terms and concepts History Schools and sects People By region and country List of topics Timeline Temples Texts Culture   From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details. Search Titles 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ? E-mail this article to: Personal Message: