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 dikpalas…
- 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…