Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c16.462

v1.c16.462

The Four Kings appear to have been regarded as Recorders of the happenings in the assemblies of the devas.⁴ On the eighth day of the lunar half-month, they send their councillors out into the world to discover if men cultivate righteousness and virtue; on the fourteenth day they send their sons, on the fifteenth day they themselves appear in the world, all these visits having the same purpose. Then, at the assembly of the devas, they submit their report to the gods of Tāvatiṃsa, who rejoice or lament according as to whether men prosper in righteousness or not.⁵ These four Gods surpass the other inhabitants of their worlds in ten ways—beauty, length of life, etc.—because their merit is greater than that of the others.⁶