dikpala
दिक्पाल dikpalaA guardian deity of one of the directions (Indra in the east, Yama in the south, and so on).
Where this term appears
- The Vastu-Purusha-Mandala: The Plan Behind the Temple Temples
The ones along the rim are the dikpalas , the guardians of the directions: Indra in the east, Yama in the south, Varuna in the west, Kubera in the north, and the rest at the corners and between.
- Why do so many temples face east? Temples
The directions on the grid have divine rulers, the dikpalas , and the east belongs to Indra, king of the gods, and to Aditya, the sun; east and the north-east are the two most auspicious quarters of the whole p…
- The Government of the Cosmos Treatise
The lokapalas, navagrahas and saptarishis are the administrative classes of the Hindu cosmos — the officers who govern space, time and law. The lokapalas or…
- The Temple Is a Cosmos Treatise
A Hindu temple is not merely a house for a single deity — it is a scale model of the whole peopled cosmos, and its sculpture is a systematic map of the divine…