''Devata'' (pl: ''devatas'', meaning 'the gods') 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 Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification o ...

, such as

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. 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

There are many kinds of devatas: vanadevatas (forest spirits, perhaps descendants of early nature-spirit cults),

gramadevata A gramadevata () is the tutelary deity of a given locality in Hinduism, primarily worshipped in the villages of India. Of diverse origins, gramadevatas are regarded to protect the inhabitants of their villages from bandits, epidemics, and natur ...

(village gods), devatas of river crossings, caves, mountains, and so on. For example, in the

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

region of

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, 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,

Renuka Mahur Renuka, also known as Yellamma Devi, is a Hindu mother goddess venerated predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. She is regarded as the mother of Parashurama, the six ...

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

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

Nasik Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari River, Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sit ...

Vithoba Vithoba (IAST: ''Viṭhobā''), also known as Vitthala (IAST: ''Viṭṭhala''), and Panduranga (IAST: ''Pāṇḍuraṅga''), is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is a form of the Hindu ...

in Pandharpur,

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

at Dwarka,

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

at Kolkata,

Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

at Kolhapur,

Devi Kanya Kumari Devi Kanya Kumari (Tamil: கன்னியாகுமரி) () is a manifestation of the Hindu goddess Mahadevi in the form of an adolescent girl. She is variously described by various traditions of Hinduism to either be a form of Parvati ...

Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

# Kula devatas or family deities, like Khanderai and Muniandi # 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 Dewatas in Sri Lankan Buddhism: * Bandara Dewatawo are dewatas of trees, mountains, etc. * Gambara Dewatawo are dewatas of the villages * Loka Dewatawo are dewatas of planets

Scriptures

Some well-known Hindu-Buddhist heavenly beings belong to the group of devatas, such as

apsara Apsaras (, , Khmer language, Khmer: អប្សរា are a class of celestial beings in Hinduism, Hindu and Culture of Buddhism, Buddhist culture. They were originally a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters, but, later play ...

s 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 Indian 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 ...

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

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

and the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

and in many other Buddhist holy scriptures. The island of

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

is nicknamed ''Pulau Dewata'' ( Indonesian: "islands of devata or island of gods") because of its vivid

Hindu culture Hinduism () is an umbrella term for a range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions ( ''sampradaya''s) that are unified by adherence to the concept of ''dharma'', a cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and right ...

and traditions. In Indonesia, the term

hyang ''Hyang'' (Kawi language, Kawi, Sundanese language, Sundanese, Javanese language, Javanese, and Balinese language, Balinese) is a representation of the King of the gods, supreme being, in ancient Mythology of Indonesia, Java and Bali mythology. T ...

is equivalent to devata. In Hinduism, the devatas that guard the eight, nine and ten cardinal points are called

Lokapala (, ), Sanskrit, Pāli, and Lhasa_Tibetan, Tibetan for "guardian of the world", has different uses depending on whether it is found in a Hinduism, Hindu or Buddhism, Buddhist context. In Hinduism, ''lokapāla'' refers to the Guardians of the ...

(

Guardians of the Directions The Guardians of the Directions (, ) are the deities who rule the specific directions of space according to Hinduism, Jainism and ''Vajrayana, '' Buddhism—especially Kalachakra, . As a group of eight deities, they are called (अष्ट-द� ...

) or, more specifically in ancient

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

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