Guardians of the directions

The Guardians of the Directions (Sanskrit: दिक्पाल, Dikpāla) are the deities who rule the specific directions of space according to Hinduism and Vajrayāna Buddhism—especially Kālacakra. As a group of eight deities, they are called Aṣṭa-Dikpāla (अष्ट-दिक्पाल), 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 Daśa-dikpāla. In Hinduism it is traditional to represent their images on the walls and ceilings of Hindu temples. In ancient Java the nine guardian gods of directions is called Dewata Nawa Sanga (Nine guardian devata), the diagram of these guardian gods of directions is featured in Surya Majapahit, the emblem of Majapahit empire.

There are strong similarities between the concept of the guardians of the directions and the lore surrounding the Chinese four symbols, four ancestral spirits who are responsible for four of the cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West).

Names and attributes

The names of the Dikpālas vary slightly, but generally include the following:

Name	Direction	Mantra	Weapon	Consort	Graha (Planet)	Guardian Mātṛkā
Kubera	North	Oṃ Śaṃ Kuberāya Namaḥ	Gadā (mace)	Kuberajāyā	Budha (Mercury)	Kumārī
Yama	South	Oṃ Maṃ Yamāya Namaḥ	Daṇḍa(staff)	Yami	Maṅgala (Mars)	Varahi
Indra	East	Oṃ Laṃ Indrāya Namaḥ	Vajra (thunderbolt)	Śacī	Sūrya (Sun)	Aindri
Varuṇa	West	Oṃ Vaṃ Varuṇāya Namaḥ	Pāśa (noose)	Nalani	Śani (Saturn)	Varuṇī
Īśāna	Northeast	Oṃ Haṃ Īśānāya Namaḥ	Triśūla (trident)	Pārvatī	Bṛhaspati (Jupiter)	Māheśvarī
Agni	Southeast	Oṃ Raṃ Agnaye Namaḥ	Śakti(Spear)	Svāhā	Śukra (Venus)	Meṣavāhinī
Vāyu	Northwest	Oṃ Yaṃ Vāyuve Namaḥ	Aṅkuśa (goad)	Bhāratī	Candra (Moon)	Mṛgavāhinī
Nirṛti (sometimes Rakṣasa)	Southwest	Oṃ Kṣaṃ Rakṣasāya Namaḥ	Khaḍga (sword)	Khaḍgī	Rāhu (North Lunar Node)	Khaḍgadhāriṇī
Brahmā	Zenith	Oṃ Hriṃ Brahmaṇe Namaḥ	Padma (lotus)	Sarasvatī	Ketu (South Lunar Node)	Brahmāni
Viṣṇu	Nadir	Oṃ Kliṃ Viṣṇave Namaḥ	Cakra (discus)	Lakṣmī	Lagna	Vaiṣṇavī

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