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The Guardians of the Directions (Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
 Dikpalas / ???????) are the deities who rule the specific directions of space according to Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
 and
Vajrayana

Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayana, Mantranaya, Mantrayana, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle ....
 Buddhism
Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
—especially . When with eight deities, they're called s / ????-???????, literally meaning guardians of eight directions. They are often augmented with two extra deities for the ten directions (the two extra directions being [[zenith]] and [[nadir]]), when they are known as the s. In Hinduism it is traditional to represent their images on the walls and ceilings of [[Hindu temple]]s. The names of the Dikpalas vary slightly, but generally include the following:

Kalachakra

Kalacakra is a Sanskrit term used in Vajrayana that means "wheel of time" or "time-cycles". It refers both to a Tantric deity of Vajrayana Buddhism and to the philosophies and meditation practices contained within the Kalachakra Tantra and its many commentaries....


ctions in Hindu tradition are called as Disa, Disha or Dik. There are four primary directions and a total of 10 directions.

Lokapalas
In Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
 the Guardians of the four cardinal directions are called the
Lokapala

Lokapala, Sanskrit and Pali for "guardian of the world", has different uses depending on whether it is found in a Hinduism or Buddhism context....
s.






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The Guardians of the Directions (Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
 Dikpalas / ???????) are the deities who rule the specific directions of space according to Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
 and
Vajrayana

Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayana, Mantranaya, Mantrayana, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle ....
 Buddhism
Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
—especially . When with eight deities, they're called s / ????-???????, literally meaning guardians of eight directions. They are often augmented with two extra deities for the ten directions (the two extra directions being [[zenith]] and [[nadir]]), when they are known as the s. In Hinduism it is traditional to represent their images on the walls and ceilings of [[Hindu temple]]s. The names of the Dikpalas vary slightly, but generally include the following:

Kalachakra

Kalacakra is a Sanskrit term used in Vajrayana that means "wheel of time" or "time-cycles". It refers both to a Tantric deity of Vajrayana Buddhism and to the philosophies and meditation practices contained within the Kalachakra Tantra and its many commentaries....


Directions in Hindu tradition

Directions in Hindu tradition are called as Disa, Disha or Dik. There are four primary directions and a total of 10 directions.
English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
 Other
East
East

East is a Direction in geography. It is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points, opposite of west and at right angles to north and south....
 Purva Prachi, Prak
West
West

West is most commonly a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points....
 Pratichi, Apara
North
North

North is one of the four cardinal directions, specifically the direction that, in Western culture, is treated as the fundamental direction:...
 Uttara
Uttara

Uttara may refer to:*Uttara is the name of two siblings in the Hindu epic Mahabharata:**Uttara, the son of King Virata who went into battle with Arjuna, disguised as his charioteer....
 Udichi
South
South

South is one of the cardinal directions and is opposite to the north.By Western world Norm , the bottom side of a map is south; the southern direction has azimuth or bearing of 180?....
 Dakshina
Dakshina

Dakshina in the historical Vedic religion is the term for the recompense paid by the sacrificer for the services of a Vedic priesthood, originally consisting of a Sacred cow....
 Avachi
North-East Isanya 
South-East Agneya 
North-West Vayavya 
South-West 
Up
Up

Up is a relative direction, the opposite of down.Up may also refer to:*A railroad direction in the United Kingdom and China*At bat, in baseball, when a player is facing the pitcher...
  
Down
Down

Down may refer to:* Relative direction, where down is the direction towards the centre of gravity of a celestial object.* Railroad directions, where down and up have locally significant meanings...
 Atha 


Lokapalas


In Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
 the Guardians of the four cardinal directions are called the
Lokapala

Lokapala, Sanskrit and Pali for "guardian of the world", has different uses depending on whether it is found in a Hinduism or Buddhism context....
s. They are:

  • Kubera
    Kubera

    Kubera is the king of the Yakshas and the lord of wealth in Hindu mythology. He is also known as Dhanapati, the lord of riches. He is one of the Guardians of the directions , representing the Uttara-disha, meaning north of 4 directions in Sanskrit....
     (north)
  • Yama
    Yama (Hinduism)

    This article is about the deity Yama in Hinduism. For yama in the sense of a code of conduct, see Yamas. For a general article about Yama, see Yama....
     (south)
  • Indra
    Indra

    Indra is the god of War and Weather, also the King of the gods or Deva and Lord of Heaven or Swarga in Hinduism. Mentioned first as the chief deity in the sacred Hindu text of Rig Veda, Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash and amorous character....
     (east)
  • Varuna

    In Historical Vedic religion, Varuna or Waruna is a god of the sky, of waters and of the celestial ocean, as well as a god of law and of the underworld....
     (west)


Images of the are usually placed in pairs at the entrance to tombs. As Guardians they can call upon the spirits of the next world to help them protect the tomb if necessary.

See also

  • Four Heavenly Kings
    Four Heavenly Kings

    In the Buddhism, 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:...