Virūpākṣa

Heavenly King of the west and lord of the nāgas, one of the Four Heavenly Kings guarding the world from Mount Sumeru.

Domains

• guardianship of the west
• lordship of the nagas

Powers

• Guard the western quarter of the world
• Command the serpent nāgas
• See all things across the world with far-seeing eyes

Epithets

• 廣目天 chinese · Kōmokuten / Guǎngmù Tiān'Broad-Eyed Heavenly King' — guardian of the WestSuvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra; East Asian iconography (secondary)
• विरूपाक्ष devanagari · Virūpākṣa'He of irregular/wide eyes' — lord of the nāgas, guardian of the westĀṭānāṭiya Sutta (DN 32) (primary)
• 廣目天王 Chinese · Guǎngmù Tiānwáng · cultHeavenly King of the Broad EyeChinese Four Heavenly Kings (Sì Dà Tiānwáng) tradition (secondary)

Relations

• companion: DhṛtarāṣṭraReciprocal of buddhist_dhrtarastra.companion — Fellow Great Kings (Catummaharajika) guarding the four quarters from Mount Sumeru.Digha Nikaya 32 (Atanatiya Sutta) (primary)
• companion: VaiśravaṇaReciprocal of buddhist_vaishravana.companion — Fellow Great Kings (Catummaharajika) guarding the four quarters from Mount Sumeru.Digha Nikaya 32 (Atanatiya Sutta) (primary)
• companion: VirūḍhakaReciprocal of buddhist_virudhaka.companion — Fellow Great Kings (Catummaharajika) guarding the four quarters from Mount Sumeru.Digha Nikaya 32 (Atanatiya Sutta) (primary)

Sources

• existence: Pali Canon, Āṭānāṭiya-sutta (DN 32), Dīgha Nikāya (primary)