Four Heavenly Kings

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This article is about Buddhist gods. For other uses, see Four Heavenly Kings (disambiguation).

Korean statue of Gwangmok Cheonwang (Virūpākṣa)

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(देवराज) "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	Vaiśravaṇa वैस्रवण (Kubera कुभॆर)	Virūḍhaka विरूधक	Dhṛtarāṣṭra ध्र्तराश्त्र	Virūpākṣa विरुपाक्श
Pāli Name	Vessavaṇa (Kuvera कुवॆरा)	Virūḷhaka विरूल्हक	Dhataraṭṭha धतराथ्थ	Virūpakkha विरूपाख्ख
Meaning	“He who hears everything”	“He who enlarges” or “Patron of Growth”	"He who maintains the state" or “Watcher of the Lands”	"He who sees all"
Traditional Chinese	多聞天	增長天	持國天	廣目天
Simplified Chinese	多闻天	增长天	持国天	广目天
Hànyŭ Pīnyīn	Duō Wén Tiān	Zēng Cháng Tiān	Chí Guó Tiān	Guăng Mù Tiān
Korean Name	Damun Cheonwang 다문천왕	Jeungjang Cheonwang 증장천왕	Jiguk Cheonwang 지국천왕	Gwangmok Cheonwang 광목천왕
Japanese characters	多聞天 or 毘沙門	増長天	持國天 or 治國天	廣目天
Japanese Name	Tamonten or Bishamon	Zōchōten	Jikokuten	Kōmokuten
Tibetan Name	rnam.thos.sras (Namthöse)	'phags.skyes.po (Phakyepo)	yul.'khor.srung (Yülkhorsung)	spyan.mi.bzang (Chenmizang)
Color	Yellow	Blue	White	Red
Symbol	Umbrella, Mongoose	Sword	Pipa	Serpent, Small stupa or pearl
Followers	Yakṣas	Kumbhāṇḍas	Gandharvas	Nāgas
Direction	North	South	East	West

Further associations between the four directions and elements, seasons, planets, animals, internal organs, etc. can be found at Five elements (Chinese philosophy). Note, however, that the colors assigned to the Four Heavenly Kings represent an independent tradition and do not correspond to the traditional Chinese association of colors and directions.

All four serve Śakra (Jp: Taishakuten 帝釈天), the lord of the devas of Trāyastriṃśa. On the 8th, 14th and 15th days of each lunar month, the Four Heavenly Kings either send out messengers or go themselves to see how virtue and morality are faring in the world of men. Then they report upon the state of affairs to the assembly of the Trāyastriṃśa devas.

On the orders of Śakra, the four kings and their retinues stand guard to protect Trāyastriṃśa from another attack by the Asuras, which once threatened to destroy the kingdom of the devas. They are also vowed to protect the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Buddha's followers from danger.

Statues of the Four Heavenly Kings. From left to right: Vaiśravaṇa, Virūḍhaka, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and 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.