The Ashta-Dikpala (Eight Guardians)

 The Ashta-Dikpala (Eight Guardians)

The most common grouping consists of eight deities ruling the primary and intermediate directions: 

Direction	Deity	Vahana (Mount)	Attributes/Domain
East	Indra	Elephant (Airavata)	King of Gods, rain, thunderbolt
South	Yama	Buffalo	God of death, justice, dharma
West	Varuna	Crocodile (Makara)	God of waters, oceans, cosmic law
North	Kubera	Man or Ram	God of wealth and growth
Southeast	Agni	Ram	God of fire and sacrifice
Southwest	Nirriti	Man or Corpse	Guardian of decay and sorrow
Northwest	Vayu	Deer (Antelope)	God of wind and life breath
Northeast	Isana	Bull (Vrishabha)	A form of Shiva representing purity

Variations and Groupings

• Dasa-Dikpala: Ten guardians, adding Brahma for the Zenith (upward) and Vishnu (or Ananta) for the Nadir (downward).