རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་བཞིའི་རིས། | Glossary of Terms

The first of the six heavens of the desire realm.

One of the six heavens of the desire realm.

The first of the six heavens of the desire realm.

One of the six heavens of the desire realm.

The first of the six heavens of the desire realm.

The lowest of the six heavens of the desire realm.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, lowest of the six heavens of the desire realm. It is located on the slopes of Mount Meru and ruled by the Four Great Kings.

Lit. “Abode of the Four Great Kings.”

The lowest of the six god realms of the desire realm. See “Catur­mahā­rāja.”

“The Division of the Four Mahārājas.” The paradise of the Four Mahārājas, which is situated at the base of Sumeru. The lowest of the six paradises of the desire realm.

For consistency rgyal chen bzhi’i ris is rendered cāturmahā­rājika (“[gods] belonging to the group of the Four Great Kings”), even though there are a number of Skt. forms (Edg says the forms are cāturmahā­rāja­kāyika and less often caturmahā­rāja­kāyika, and cāturmahā­rājika and less often caturmahā­rājika) and slight differences are encountered in the Tib. translation. “Gods” is sometimes rendered explicitly and is sometimes implicit in the Tib.

A deity in the paradises of the Four Mahārājas.

The paradise of the Four Mahā­rājas situated around the base of Sumeru.

One of the gods’ realms.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, lowest among the six heavens of the desire realm. Dwelling place of the Four Great Kings, traditionally located on a terrace of Mount Meru.

One of the gods’ realms; also used as the name of the gods living there.

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, lowest among the six heavens of the desire realm. Dwelling place of the four great kings, traditionally located on a terrace of Sumeru, just below the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.

Devas belonging to the realm of the four guardian kings at the base of Mount Meru, each the guardian of his direction: Vaiśravaṇa in the north, Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the east, Virūpākṣa in the west, and Virūḍhaka in the south.

The lowest of the six heavens of the desire realm, it is ruled over by the Four Great Kings, who each guard one of the cardinal directions.

A class of gods who inhabit the lowest among the six heavens of the desire realm, the dwelling place of the Four Great Kings.

A class of gods who inhabit the lowest among the six heavens of the desire realm, the dwelling place of the Four Great Kings.

Gods of the Heaven of the Four World Guardians/Great Kings (cāturmahārājika), first of the six heavens of the realm of desire. The name is of both the location and the inhabitant deities.

The four respective realms of the Four Great Kings‍—Virūḍhaka, Virūpākṣa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Vaiśravaṇa. They are the lowest of the god realms and found on the slopes of Mount Meru, one in each of the four directions. 

The realm of the Four Great Kings and their retinue constitutes the first and lowest heaven of the form realm on the slopes of Mount Meru. The Four Great Kings are Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the east, Virūḍhaka in the south, Virūpākṣa in the west, and Vaiśravaṇa in the north.