Reconsidering the Four Heavenly Kings in Unified Silla: Embodiment of the Buddha’s Presence in the Spatial Context of Reliquaries

Images of the Four Heavenly Kings in Unified Silla appear on stone pagodas, reliquaries, monks’ stūpas, and stone lanterns. Previous scholarship has interpreted these images primarily within the framework of nation-protecting Buddhism. This approach, however, does not adequately explain how their role relates to the primary function of these structures and overlooks their diverse spatial contexts. This study therefore focuses on reliquaries bearing images of the Four Heavenly Kings and reexamines their function. The analysis suggests that Unified Silla reliquaries were conceived as kŭmdang (golden halls) and relics as the living presence of the Buddha. Within this framework, the Four Heavenly Kings on reliquaries are understood, in addition to their conventional protective function, as attendants and members of the Dharma audience who participated in the Buddha’s preaching. This suggests that their function was not confined to a single framework of nation-protection but was configured in multiple layers depending on spatial context. Through iconographic analysis of reliquaries and pagoda reliefs and a comparative examination of their spatial contexts, this study argues that the Four Heavenly Kings on Unified Silla reliquaries, grounded in the contemporary understanding of relics as the Buddha’s living presence, embodied the overlapping roles of Dharma protector, attendant, and member of the Dharma audience. This study thus offers a more multifaceted understanding of the function of the Four Heavenly Kings.