देवस्

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देवस्«word2»↶P207L↷DEVA(

S

)

.

Gods

or

deities.1

)

General

information.

From

time

immemorial

belief

in

devas

has

existed

in

every

country

and

all

religions

have

lauded

their

superior

nature

and

power.

It

was

the

Hindus

and

the

Buddhists

who

first

applied

the

term

‘Deva’

to

certain

very

subtle

beings

recognised

in

all

religions.

The

Pārsi

religion

(

Zaratuṣṭra

)

has

spoken

about

seven

Devarājans

and

their

attendants.

‘Ameṣ

pentas’

is

the

actual

term

used

for

the

devarāja.

The

Christian

religion

refers

to

nine

sects

of

devas

like

Srāfi,

Kherubi,

Dominion,

Angel

etc.

Īslam

refers

to

four

chief

devas

viz.

Gabriel,

the

presiding

deva

over

revelations,

Mikhayel

of

protection,

Asriyal

of

death

and

Israfin

of

resurruction.

An

important

section

of

the

ṛgveda

is

Sūktas

about

Devās

like

indra,

mitra,

varuṇa,

agni

etc.

In

Yajñas

etc.

devas

occupy

a

very

important

place.

The

Kenopaniṣad

states

that

the

conceited

and

haughty

devas

were

taught

a

lesson

by

God.

The

subject

matter

of

the

kaṭhopaniṣad

is

the

advice

given

by

yama

to

naciketas.

The

Muṇḍakopaniṣad

says

that

the

devas,

man

and

birds

originated

from

God.(

1.

Tasmācca

devāḥ

bahudhā

samprasūtāḥ

sādhyāḥ

manuṣyāḥ

paśavo

vayāṁsaḥ.

)

There

are

references

about

deva

worship

in

the

Smṛtis.

The

Purāṇas

and

Upapu-

rāṇas

contain

scientific

discussions,

about

the

origin,

work

or

functions,

classes,

etc.

of

devas.

The

Mantraśāstra

and

Tantraśāstra

deal

also

about

the

various

sects

and

class

of

devas,

their

nature,

and

the

worship

to

be

offered

to

them

etc.2

)

Christian

devas,

Satan

and

devils.

Christian

religious

books

commonly

use

the

term

Mālākhas

for

devas.

Greek

mythology

contains

a

story

about

the

Mālākhas,

who

did

not

obey

the

orders

of

Jehovah

and

how

He

cursed

them,

turned

them

into

devils

and

flung

them

into

hell.

And,

in

hell

they

organised

a

revolutionary

party

to

fight

Jehovah.

Many

leaders

talked

on

the

subject

of

how

to

take

vengeance

on

Jehovah.

It

was

nearabout

this

period

that

Jehovah

created

with

the

dust

on

earth

Adam

as

his

beloved

son

and

settled

him

in

the

garden

of

Aden.

God

created

from

the

ribs

of

Adam

the

woman

called

Eve,

and

they

lived

in

Eden

quite

happily.Satan

and

other

leaders

in

hell

decided

that

the

greatest

revenge

that

could

be

taken

upon

Jehovah

was

to

create

troubles

for

his

dear

son,

Adam

in

Eden.

Accordingly

Satan

went

to

Eden

and

made

Adam

and

Eve

eat

the

forbidden

fruit

with

the

result

that

Jehovah

cursed

and

turned

them

into

human

beings

and

turned

them

out

of

Eden.

Milton

in

his

reputed

poem

Paradise

Lost

has

told

the

above

story

in

inimitable

language.3

)

Indian

devas.

Most

of

the

Indian

devas

are

the

sons

of

kaśyapa

prajāpati

by

aditi,

daughter

of

dakṣa

prajāpati.

The

total

number

of

devas

is

33

crores.

The

devas

are

divided

into

many

classes

or

sections

like

Ādityas,

Viśvadevatas,

Vasus,

tuṣitas,

Ābhāsvaras,

Anilas,

Mahārājikas,

Sādhyas,

Rudras,

vidyādharas,

Pitṛdevas

etc.

There

are

further

divisions

like

apsaras,

Virūpākṣas,

Bhadras,

Gandharvas,

Kuṁbhāṇḍas,

Rākṣasas,

Nāgas,

Aśvinīs,

kinnaras,

Kiṁpuruṣas,

Piśācas,

Guhyakas,

Siddhas,

Cāraṇas,

Matṛs,

Kūśmāṇḍas,

bhūtas,

Vetālas,

etc.

Yet

another

division

is

into

Lokapālas,

Lipikas

etc.

The

devas

are

classified

with

special

reference

to

bhūtagaṇas

like

Pṛthvī

etc.

and

are,

therefore,

referred

to

as

Bhūdevatās,

Agnidevatās,

Vāyudevatās,

etc.

The

presiding

spirit

of

Bhūdevatās

is

kubera,

that

of

the

Jaladevatās

is

varuṇa,

that

of

the

Agnidevatās,

Vāyubhagavān

and

that

of

the

Ākāśadevatas,

indra.

And,

under

them

there

are

various

sets

of

devas

in

charge

of

different

departments.

Sādhyas,

Vasus,

Ādityas,

apsaras

etc.

are

Ākāśadevas,

Maruttas

and

Gandharvas,

Vāyudevas.

Yakṣas

and

Yakṣīs

are

servants

of

kubera.

virūpākṣa,

bhadra

etc.

are

Bhūdevas.

virūpākṣa

supports

the

earth

according

to

the

vālmīki

purāṇa.

Those

who

protect

nidhis

(

treasures

)

may

also

be

considered

Bhūmidevas.There

are

33

bosses

or

presiding

spirits

for

the

33

crores

of

devas.

dvādaśādityas

(

12

)

ekādaśarudras

(

11

)

aṣṭavasus

(

8

)

and

aśvinīdevas

(

2

)

are

the

33

chiefs

of

devas.

indra

is

the

chief

of

all

of

them.4

)

The

term

deva.

The

word

deva

means

light

and

also

play.

devas

shine

forth,

they

are

also

playful.

Thus

the

name

is

quite

apt

for

them.

(

See

grāmadevatā

).