Devata (pl: devatas, meaning 'the gods') are smaller and more focused Devas (Deities) in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. 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 (village gods), devatas of river crossings, caves, mountains, and so on. For example, in the
Konkan region of
India, Hindu devatas are often divided into five categories:
-
Gramadevata or village deities who could be the founder deity such as Jathera or ancestral worship of Bali, and examples include Santoshi, Renuka, Aiyanar
-
Sthana devatas or local deities, for example, those in certain places of pilgrimage like Rama in Nasik, Vithoba in Pandharpur, Krishna at Dwarka, Kali at Kolkata, Lakshmi at Kolhapur, Devi Kanya Kumari at Kanyakumari
-
Kuladevata or family deities, like Khanderai and Muniandi
-
Ishta devatas or chosen deities
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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
or
Vidyadhara (female cloud and water spirits) and their male counterparts, the
(heavenly musicians). Devatas often occur in many
Jataka tales, Hindu epics such as the
Ramayana and the
Mahabharata 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 (Guardians of the Directions) or, more specifically in ancient
Java tradition,
Dewata Nawa Sanga (
Surya Majapahit).
See also
External links
