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The Four Heavenly Kings are four
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
gods or ''devas'', 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 (N), south (S), east (E), and west (W). The corresponding azimuths ( clockwise horizontal angle from north) are 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. The ...
of the world. The
Hall of Four Heavenly Kings The ''Tianwang Dian'' (; lit: ”Hall of the 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 enshrined in the hall. Maitreya Buddha i ...
is a standard component of
Chinese Buddhist Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...
temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
.


Names

The Kings are collectively named as follows: Individually, they have different names and features. Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...
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 Euro ...
, 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 () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, ...
, which once threatened to destroy the realm of the devas. They also vowed to protect the Buddha, the
Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
, 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 Indian bhikkhu, Buddhist monk and scholar. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary on the Abhidharma, from the perspectives of th ...
, 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 In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () 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 Indian 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 ...
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.


Gallery

Lingyin Temple Lingyin Temple () is a prominent Chan Buddhist temple near Hangzhou that is renowned for its many pagodas and grottos. Its name is commonly and literally translated into English as Temple of the Soul's Retreat. The monastery is the largest ...
,
Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
,
Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
."> 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, Guǎngmù Tiānwáng (west) Jikō-ji, Takasago, Hyōgo,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
." 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
Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling in Japan has existed for several decades. The first Japanese person to involve themselves in catch wrestling (the basis of traditional professional wrestling) was former sumo wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda. There were subsequ ...
, the group of
Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for spending 18 years with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and subsequently leading the 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus, which culminated in him forming Pro W ...
,
Kenta Kobashi (born, March 27, 1967) is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired wrestler. Broadly referred to by the nickname , he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He is best known for his two run ...
,
Toshiaki Kawada (born December 8, 1963) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), whom he worked for from his debut in 1982 up until 2008. In the promotion, he was a five-time Triple Crown He ...
, and
Akira Taue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his runs in All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he worked for all of his career in both promotions. A former sumo wrestler who went under the name , he retire ...
of All Japan Pro-Wrestling are commonly referred to as the Four Heavenly Kings of Pro Wrestling (プロレスの四天王, ''Puroresu no shiten'nō''). * In the Hong Kong entertainment industry,
Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah ( zh, order=t,j, t=劉德華, j=Lau4 Dak1 Waa4; born Lau Fook-wing; 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He was named the "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVB in the 1 ...
,
Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. One of the most influential artists in the Greater China region, Cheung is widely regarded as a Heavenly King of Cantopop music and an icon of Hong Kong popular culture. He ...
,
Leon Lai Leon Lai Ming Silver Bauhinia Star, SBS Bronze Bauhinia Star, BBS Medal of Honour (Hong Kong), MH ( zh, 黎明; born 11 December 1966), is a Hong Kong actor, singer, film director, and businessman. He is one of the "Cantopop#1990s: Four Heav ...
,
Aaron Kwok Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer, and actor, known as one of Hong Kong's "Four Heavenly Kings". Active since the 1980s, he has released over 30 studio albums in Cantonese and Mandarin, mostly in the danc ...
are known as the Four Heavenly Kings. * In the first season of ''Sailor Moon'', and ''Sailor Moon Crystal'', the Four Heavenly Kings were the four loyal and faithfully devoted generals and bodyguards of Prince Endymion. * In '' MegaBeast Investigator Juspion'', starting in episode 13, the main villain Mad Gallant employs a quartet of assassins called the Four Evil Heavenly Kings (悪の四天王, ''Aku no Shitennō''). * The third movie of ''Detective Dee'', by Tsui Hark, is named ''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 is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...
'', the group of Pokémon trainers known as the Elite Four in English are called the Four Heavenly Kings (四天王) in Japanese, Chinese and Korean. * In ''
Street Fighter is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...
'', the leading members of Shadaloo known as the Grand Masters in English are known as the Four Heavenly Kings (四天王) in Japanese. 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, and ...
(Balrog in Japanese),
Balrog Balrogs () are a species of powerful demonic monsters 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 Company of the Ring encounter a Balrog known as Durin's Bane in ...
(M. Bison in Japanese), Sagat (formerly), and F.A.N.G. * In ''
Mega Man Zero is an action game, action-platformer, platform game series in Capcom's ''Mega Man'' video game franchise. It was developed by Inti Creates, with Co-Producer Keiji Inafune and Director Yoshinori Kawano. The series consists of four games that were ...
'', the group of Reploids known as the Four Guardians in English are called the Four Heavenly Kings (四天王) in Japanese. In the crossover game ''Rockman Xover'', there is another group also called the Four Heavenly Kings (四天王). * In '' Black Myth Wukong'', the Four Heavenly Kings (四天王) are featured as a boss fight.


See also

*
Anemoi In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, the Anemoi () 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 nature, ...
*
Bacab Bacab () is the generic Yucatec Maya name for the four prehispanic aged deities of the interior of the Earth and its water deposits. The Bacabs have more recent counterparts in the lecherous, drunken old thunder deities of the Gulf Coast regions. ...
* Four Dwarves (Norse mythology) *
Four Holy Beasts The Four Holy Beasts (、、or ) are Chinese astronomy, Chinese astronomical and chinese culture, cultural Four Benevolent Animals that are spread in the East Asian cultural sphere. They are mentioned in the Chinese classic ''Book of Rites'' and i ...
* Four Living Creatures *
Four sons of Horus The four sons of Horus were a group of four ancient Egyptian deities, deities in ancient Egyptian religion who were believed to protect deceased people in the ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs, afterlife. Beginning in the First Intermediate Peri ...
* Four Stags (Norse mythology) *
Four Symbols The Four Symbols are mythological creatures appearing among the Chinese constellations along the ecliptic, and viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. These four creatures are also referred to by a variety of other names, in ...
*
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 ...
*
Guardians of the directions The Guardians of the Directions (, ) are the deities who rule the specific directions of space according to Hinduism, Jainism and ''Vajrayana, '' Buddhism—especially Kalachakra, . As a group of eight deities, they are called (अष्ट-द� ...
*
Lokapala (, ), Sanskrit, Pāli, and Lhasa_Tibetan, Tibetan for "guardian of the world", has different uses depending on whether it is found in a Hinduism, Hindu or Buddhism, Buddhist context. In Hinduism, ''lokapāla'' refers to the Guardians of the ...
* Royal stars *
Svetovid Svetovit, also known as Sventovit and Svantovit amongst other variants, 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 Rü ...
*
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. The word comes from the Greek for "fou ...
*
Watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...


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 Religious quartets Dharmapalas Vajrayana deities Buddhism in China Chinese gods