Four Lokapalas – Guardians kings of the four directions

This illuminated manuscript folio represents the Guardian kings of the four directions: white Dhritarashtra playing lute in the east, blue Virudhaka brandishing a sword in the south, red Virupaksha holding a pearl and seizing a snake in the west, and yellow Vaishravana holding a banner and a mongoose in the north. Tradition has it that these four deities approached the historical Buddha Shakyamuni after is Enlightenment, and presented him with an alms bowl, visible on many artistic representations.

The Four Guardian Kings are often found on mural paintings at the entrance to Buddhist temples. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, representations of the Four Great Kings are placed at the four directions of a closed retreat in order to set the boundaries of the retreat and guard the practitioner(s) from obstacles. The four kings generally appear as warriors equipped with heavy armors, following a Chinese or Central Asian style.

Of the Four Guardian Kings, only Vaishravana is worshipped independently. He is mainly invoked as a deity of wealth.