These guardians are the four great kings of the quarters; Vaiśravaṇa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Virūḍhaka, and Virūpākṣa. Their mission is to report on the activities of humans to the gods and to protect the practitioners of the Dharma.

Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera), Virūḍhaka, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Virūpākṣa.

See the “four great kings.”

See “Four Great Kings.”

Four deities guarding the four quarters, namely, Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the east, Virūḍhaka in the south, Virūpākṣa in the west, and Vaiśravaṇa in the north. Also referred to as the Four Great Kings.

The Four Great Kings of the cardinal directions.

See “Four Great Kings.”

Four deities at the base of Mount Meru, each one the guardian of his direction: Vaiśravaṇa in the north, Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the East, Virūpākṣa in the west, and Virūḍhaka in the south.

The powerful nonhuman guardian kings of the four quarters‍—Virūḍhaka, Virūpākṣa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Vaiśravaṇa‍—who rule, respectively, over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south, nāgas in the west, gandharvas in the east, and yakṣas in the north. Also known as the Four Great Kings.

See “Four Great Kings.”