The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c25.18

c25.18

Caitya, or the Stūpa, which represents the Buddhist Universe, is the Buddhist sanctuary, sometimes square and sometimes round, with spires or steps on the capital. Each spire or step represents a heaven, the uppermost portion being a point which is supposed to be the highest peak of Mount Sumeru, a mythical mountain, whence the Bodhicitta loses itself in Śūnya. On the four sides of the Caitya the figures of the Dhyāni Buddhas appear. Vairocana is sometimes present. The corners are occupied by the figures of the Divine Buddhaśaktis or their symbolic representations in the form of Yantras. The Caitya may show further, in the four cardinal points, the Caturmahārājikas or the Great Rulers of the Quarters, namely, Vaiśravaṇa, Virūpākṣa, Virūḍhaka and Dhṛtarāṣṭra. See Stūpa.