''Devata'' (pl: ''devatas'', meaning 'the gods') (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

: देवता; Khmer: ទេវតា (''tevoda''); Thai: เทวดา (''tevada''); Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Malay: ''dewata'';

Batak languages __FORCETOC__ The Batak languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken by the Batak people in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra and surrounding areas. Internal classification The Batak languages can be divided into two ...

: ''debata'' (Toba), ''dibata'' (Karo), ''naibata'' (Simalungun); '' diwata'' (

Philippine languages The Philippine languages or Philippinic are a proposed group by R. David Paul Zorc (1986) and Robert Blust (1991; 2005; 2019) that include all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi, Indonesia—except Sama–Bajaw (language ...

)) are smaller and more focused Devas (Deities) in

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

, such as

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

. The term "devata" itself can also mean deva. They can be either male or female. Every human activity has its devata, its spiritual counterpart or aspect.

Types

Apsara Relief Sculpture on Angkor Wat Temple Wall Feb 10 2000

There are many kinds of devatas: vanadevatas (forest spirits, perhaps descendants of early nature-spirit cults), gramadevata (village gods), devatas of river crossings, caves, mountains, and so on. For example, in the

Konkan The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

region of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, Hindu devatas are often divided into five categories: # Grama devatas or village deities who could be the founder deity such as Jathera or ancestral worship of Bali, and examples include

Santoshi Santoshi Mata ( hi, संतोषी माता) or Santoshi Maa () is a Hindu goddess, who is venerated as "the Mother of Satisfaction", the meaning of her name. Santoshi Mata is particularly worshipped by women of North India and Nepal. A ...

Renuka Renuka, also known as Yellamma, is a Hindu goddess worshipped predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and western state of Maharashtra. She is also known as the mother of Paras ...

Aiyanar Ayyanar (IAST: Aiyaṉār, ta, ஐயனார்) is a Hindu deity venerated in South India and Sri Lanka. His worship is prevalent among the Dravidian peoples. Some studies suggest that Ayyanar may have also been worshipped in Southeast Asi ...

# Sthana devatas or local deities, for example, those in certain places of pilgrimage like

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...

Nasik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nash ...

Vithoba Vithoba, also known as Vi(t)thal(a) and Panduranga, is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is generally considered as a manifestation of the god Vishnu, or his avatar Krishna. Vithoba is of ...

in Pandharpur,

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

at Dwarka,

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

at Kolkata,

Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). Al ...

at Kolhapur,

Devi Kanya Kumari Devi Kanya Kumari (Tamil: தேவி கன்னியா குமரி, Sanskrit: देवी कन्या कुमारि) (IAST:dēvi kanyā kumāri) is a manifestation of the Hindu goddess Mahadevi in the form of an adolescent ...

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...

# Kula devatas or family deities, like Khanderai and

Muniandi Muniandi, also referred to as Munisvaran, is a Tamil rural guardian deity of plantations and estates. He is primarily worshipped by South of Tamilnadu by Tamil society. He is regarded as a powerful god who protects from diseases and crop fail ...

# Ishta devatas or chosen deities # Vastu devatas or Gruha devatas, a class of deities that preside over the house. Following are some of the important types of Devatas in Sri Lankan Buddhism: * Bandara Devathavo are devatas of trees, mountains, etc. * Gambara Devathavo are devatas of the villages * Graha Devathavo are devatas of planets

Scriptures

Some well-known Hindu-Buddhist heavenly beings belong to the group of devatas, such as apsaras or vidhyadaris (female cloud and water spirits) and their male counterparts, the

gandharva A gandharva () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are ...

s (heavenly musicians). Devatas often occur in many Buddhist Jatakas, Hindu epics such as the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

and the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

and in many other Buddhist holy scriptures. The island of Bali is nicknamed ''Pulau Dewata'' ( Indonesian: "islands of devata or island of gods") because of its vivid Hindu culture and traditions. In Indonesia, the term hyang is equivalent to devata. In Hinduism, the devatas that guard the eight, nine and ten cardinal points are called

Lokapala Lokapāla ( sa, लोकपाल), Sanskrit and Pāli for "guardian of the world", has different uses depending on whether it is found in a Hindu or Buddhist context. * In Hinduism, lokapāla refers to the Guardians of the Directions asso ...

(

Guardians of the Directions The Guardians of the Directions (Sanskrit: दिक्पाल, Dikpāla) are the deities who rule the specific directions of space according to Hinduism, Jainism and '' '' Buddhism—especially . As a group of eight deities, they are called ( ...

) or, more specifically in ancient

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

tradition, ''Dewata Nawa Sanga'' ( Guardians of Nine Directions).

References

Palani, Sivasiva. "New Angles On Angels." ''Hinduism Today'', Sep 1992. Accessed 11 May 2006. Krishna, Nanditha. "Grounded in wisdom." ''Newindpress on Sunday'', April 26, 2003. Accessed 11 May 2006.
* Chopra, Deepak: ''Life after Death, The Burden of Proof'', Chapter 11 "Guides and Messengers" Three Rivers Press, 2008.

External links

Devata.org - Research on Khmer Women in Divine Context

Photos and Articles about Devata temples in Cambodia, Thailand & Laos
{{HinduMythology Hindu deities Tutelary deities

Types

Scriptures

See also

References

External links