The Mauryan Polity c11.s3.t6.3

c11.s3.t6.3

Of these the lion, the elephant, the bull and the horse are explained as the riding animals of the guardian deities of the four quarters. These are Vaiśravaṇa, or Kubera with the lion on the north; Dhṛtarāṣṭra with the elephant on the east, Virūḍha with horse on the south and Virūpākṣa with the bull on the west.¹