What is Four Heavenly Kings?
The Four Heavenly Kings have been represented from early Buddhist art in [[India]] until today in [[East Asia]]. There are two types of distinctive iconography of the deities: a king-like appearance in India and [[Southeast Asia]] and a warrior-like appearance in [[Central Asia]] and East Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shim|first=yeoung shin|date=2013-01-01|title=Four Heavenly Kings: Iconography and Symbolism seen Through Literary Evidence and Imagery|url=https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/926|journal=Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations}}</ref> # [[Vaishravana|Vaisravana]] (he who hears everything) NORTH # [[Virūdhaka]] (he who causes the growth) SOUTH # [[Dhritarashtra|Dhritarāshtra]] (he who upholds the realm) EAST # [[Virūpāksha]] (he who sees all) WEST == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Buddhism]]