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Deva (Hinduism) Markalanfoster 9 Talk Sandbox Preferences Beta Watchlist Contributions Log out Article Talk Read Edit View history More Search Wikipedia Deva (Hinduism) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Main page This article is about Devas in Hindu scriptures and culture. For other uses, see Deva (disambiguation). Contents Deva (/ˈdeɪvә/; Sanskrit: देव, Deva) means "heavenly, divine, anything of excellence", and is also one of the terms for a deity in Hinduism.[1] Deva is a masculine term; the feminine equivalent is Devi. Featured content Current events In the earliest Vedic literature, all supernatural beings are called Devas[2][3][4] and Asuras.[5][6] The concepts and legends evolve in ancient Indian literature, and by the late Vedic period, benevolent Random article supernatural beings are referred to as Deva-Asuras. In post-Vedic texts, such as the Puranas and the Itihasas of Hinduism, the Devas represent the good, and the Asuras the bad.[7][8] In some medieval Donate to Wikipedia Indian literature, Devas are also referred to as Suras and contrasted with their equally powerful but malevolent half-brothers, referred to as the Asuras.[9] Wikipedia store Devas, along with Asuras, Yakshas (nature spirits) and Rakshasas (ghosts, ogres) are part of Indian mythology, and Devas feature in one of many cosmological theories in Hinduism.[10][11] Interaction Contents [hide] Help About Wikipedia 1 Etymology Community portal 2 Vedic literature Recent changes 2.1 Samhitas and Brahmanas Contact page 2.2 Important Devas 2.3 Henotheism Tools 2.4 Characteristics of Devas in the Vedic literature What links here 3 Upanishads Related changes 4 Puranas and Itihasas Devas are benevolent supernatural Upload file 4.1 Bhagavata Purana beings in the Vedic era literature, with Special pages Indra (above) as their leader. The above 4.2 Symbolism Permanent link gilt copper statue of Indra with inlaid Page information 5 Classical Hinduism semi-precious stones is from 16th- Wikidata item 6 Sangam literature century Nepal. Cite this page 7 See also 8 Notes Print/export This article contains Indic text. 9 References Without proper rendering support, Create a book you may see question marks or 10 Further reading Download as PDF boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic Printable version text. In other projects Etymology [ edit ] Translations of [1][12] Wikimedia Commons Deva is a Sanskrit word found in Vedic literature of 2nd millennium BCE. Monier-Williams translates it as "heavenly, divine, terrestrial things of high excellence, exalted, shining ones". The Deva concept also is used to refer to deity or god.[1] Languages English Heavenly, divine, anything of The Sanskrit deva- derives from Indo-Iranian *daiv- which in turn descends from the Proto-Indo-European word, *deiwo-, originally an adjective meaning "celestial" or "shining", which is a (not excellence. Afrikaans [citation needed] Sanskrit देव synchronic Sanskrit) vrddhi derivative from the root *diw meaning "to shine", especially as the day-lit sky. The feminine form of *deiwos is *deiwih2, which descends into Indic languages ﺍﻟﻌﺭﺑﻳﺔ (IAST: deva) বাংলা as devi, in that context meaning "female deity". Also deriving from *deiwos, and thus cognates of deva, are Lithuanian Dievas (Latvian Dievs, Prussian Deiwas), Germanic Tiwaz (seen in English Balinese भोजपुरी "Tuesday") and the related Old Norse Tivar (gods), and Latin deus "god" and divus "divine", from which the English words "divine", "deity", French "dieu", Portuguese "deus", Spanish "dios" and (déwa) Български Italian "dio", also "Zeys/Ζεύς" - "Dias/Δίας", the Greek father of the gods, are derived.[citation needed] It is related to *Dyeus which while from the same root, may originally have referred to the "heavenly Bengali দব Català shining father", and hence to "Father Sky", the chief God of the Indo-European pantheon, continued in Sanskrit Dyaus. The bode of the Devas is Dyuloka.[citation needed] Cymraeg (deba) Dansk According to Douglas Harper, the etymological roots of Deva mean "a shining one," from *div- "to shine," and it is a cognate with Greek dios "divine" and Zeus, and Latin deus "god" (Old Latin Hindi देवता Deutsch deivos).[13] (devatā) Ελληνικά Javanese Deva is masculine, and the related feminine equivalent is devi.[14] Etymologically, the cognates of Devi are Latin dea and Greek thea.[15] When capitalized, Devi or Mata refers to goddess as divine Español (déwa) mother in Hinduism.[16] Deva is also referred to as Devatā,[12] while Devi as Devika.[14] Esperanto Kannada ವ Français The word Deva is also a proper name or part of name in Indian culture, where it refers to "one who wishes to excel, overcome" or the "seeker of, master of or a best among".[1] (deva) 한국어 Malayalam േദവൻ िह दी (devan) Bahasa Indonesia Vedic literature [ edit ] Nepali देवता Italiano Main article: Rigvedic deities (devatā) ಕನ ಡ Latina Tamil Samhitas and Brahmanas [ edit ] ேதவ க Lietuvių (tevarkal̤ ) Magyar The Samhitas, which are the oldest layer of text in Vedas enumerate 33 devas,[note 1] either 11 each for the three worlds, or as 12 Adityas, 11 Rudras, 8 Vasus and 2 Asvins in the Brahmanas layer of Glossary of Hinduism മലയാളം Vedic texts.[1][22] The Rigveda states in hymn 1.139.11, Nederlands नेपाली ये देवासो िद येकादश थ पृिथ याम येकादश थ । 日本語 अ सुि तो मिहनैकादश थ ते देवासो य िममं जुष वम् ॥११॥[23] Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski O ye eleven gods whose home is heaven, O ye eleven who make earth your dwelling, Português Ye who with might, eleven, live in waters, accept this sacrifice, O gods, with pleasure. Română – Translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith[24] Русский Svenska Gods who are eleven in heaven; who are eleven on earth; தமி ไทย and who are eleven dwelling with glory in mid-air; may ye be pleased with this our sacrifice. [25] Українська – Translated by HH Wilson Rigveda 1.139.11 — ﺍﺭﺩﻭ 中文 Edit links Some devas represent the forces of nature and some represent moral values (such as the Adityas, Varuna, and Mitra), each symbolizing the epitome of a specialized knowledge, creative energy, exalted and magical powers (Siddhis).[26][27] The most referred to Devas in the Rig Veda are Indra, Agni (fire) and Soma, with "fire deity" called the friend of all humanity, it and Soma being the two celebrated in a yajna fire ritual that marks major Hindu ceremonies. Savitr, Vishnu, Rudra (later given the exclusive epithet of Shiva), and Prajapati (later Brahma) are gods and hence Devas. Parvati (power and love) and Durga (victory) are some Devis or goddesses. Many of the deities taken together are worshiped as the Vishvedevas.[citation needed] Bas-relief of a devi in Angkor Wat, Important Devas [ edit ] Cambodia Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Shiva the destroyer, Ganesha the god of intelligence, Hanuman the god of protector and bhakti, Kartikeya the god of wars, Narada the god of news, Vishwakarma the god of architect, Dhanvantari the god of doctors and ayurveda, Kubera the god of wealth, Dyaus the god of sky, Vayu the god of wind, Varuna the god of water, Agni the god of fire, Samudra the god of sea, Shiva/Rudra has been a major Deva in Hinduism since the Vedic times.[17] Kamadeva the god of love, Above is a meditating statue of him in Bariyadeva the god of diseases, the Himalayas with Hindus offering Chitradeva the god of art, prayers. Indra the king of gods and rain, Surya the god of sun and light, Chandra the god of moon and night, Mangala the god of Mars Budha the god of Mercury, Brihaspati the god of Jupiter and teacher of gods (gyan), Shukra the god of Venus and worship (bhakti), Shani the god of Saturn and deeds (karma), Rahu the god of Neptune, Ketu the god of Uranus, Yamaraja the god of Pluto and death and one of the shivagana. Henotheism [ edit ] In Vedic literature, Deva is not a monotheistic God, rather a "supernatural, divine" concept manifesting in various ideas and knowledge, in a form that combine excellence in some aspects, wrestling with weakness and questions in other aspects, heroic in their outlook and actions, yet tied up with emotions and desires.[27][28] Max Muller states that the Vedic hymns are remarkable in calling every single of different devas as "the only one, the supreme, the greatest".[12] Muller concluded that the Vedic ideas about devas is best understood neither as polytheism nor as monotheism, but as henotheism where gods are equivalent, different perspective, different aspects of reverence and spirituality, unified by principles of Ṛta and Dharma.[12][29] The concept of Hindu Devas migrated to East Asia in the 1st Characteristics of Devas in the Vedic literature [ edit ] millennium, and was adopted by Japanese Buddhist schools as Jūni- Ananda Coomaraswamy states that Devas and Asuras in the Vedic lore are similar to the Olympian gods and Titans of Greek mythology. Both are powerful but have different orientations and inclinations, ten. These included Indra (Taishaku- with the Devas representing the powers of Light and the Asuras representing the powers of Darkness in Hindu mythology.[30][31] According to Coomaraswamy's interpretation of Devas and Asuras, both ten), Agni (Ka-ten), Yama (Emma-ten), these natures exist in each human being, both the tyrant and the angel. The best and the worst within each person struggles before choices and one's own nature, and the Hindu formulation of Devas Vayu (Fu-ten), Brahma (Bon-ten) and others.[18] Above is a painting of the 12 and Asuras is an eternal dance between these within each person.[32][33] Devas protecting Buddha by Tani Bunchō. The Devas and Asuras, Angels and Titans, powers of Light and powers of Darkness in Rigveda, although distinct and opposite in operation, are in essence consubstantial, their distinction being a matter not of essence but of orientation, revolution or transformation.
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