Caturmahārāja

E950799

Caturmahārāja is the Sanskrit term for the Four Heavenly Kings, powerful guardian deities who protect the four cardinal directions in Buddhist cosmology.

All labels observed (4)

Label Occurrences
Caturmaharajika Devas 1
Caturmahārāja canonical 1
Caturmahārājikā 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Buddhist deity group
Four Heavenly Kings
guardian deity
associatedWith Mahāyāna Buddhism
Theravāda Buddhism
linked to: Theravada

Vajrayāna Buddhism
linked to: Vajrayana
cosmologicalLevel lowest heaven of the Kāmadhātu
cosmologicalPosition below Trāyastriṃśa heaven
cosmologicalRealm Cāturmahārājika heaven
Mount Sumeru
linked to: Mount Meru
equivalentTermInChinese Sì Dà Tiānwáng
linked to: Guangmu Tianwang
equivalentTermInJapanese Shitennō
equivalentTermInKorean Sacheonwang
linked to: Jangchok Cheonwang
equivalentTermInTibetan rgyal chen bzhi
function guardians of the four continents surrounding Mount Sumeru
leaders of various classes of non-human beings
hasMember Dhṛtarāṣṭra
Vaiśravaṇa
linked to: Bishamonten

Virūpākṣa
Virūḍhaka
iconographicFeature armed with weapons
armored appearance
standing as guardians at temple gates
languageOfName Sanskrit
meaningOfName Four Great Kings
numberOfDeities 4
protectsDirection east
north
south
west
relatedConcept Four Heavenly Kings
Lokapāla
religion Buddhism
role protectors of the Dharma
protectors of the world
scripturalSource Mahāyāna sutras
linked to: Mahayana sutras

Pāli Canon
linked to: the Pali Canon

Āgama sutras
veneratedAs protectors of lay devotees
protectors of monasteries
worshippedIn China
India
Japan
Korea
Southeast Asia
Tibet

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Four Heavenly Kings SanskritName Caturmahārāja
Four Heavenly Kings SanskritName Caturmahārājikā
linked to: Caturmahārāja
Lokapalas relatedConcept Caturmaharajika Devas
linked to: Caturmahārāja
Cāturmahārājika heaven sanskritName Cāturmahārājika
linked to: Caturmahārāja