In Hinduism

Vedanta (school of philosophy)

Source: archive.org: The Taittiriya-upanishad

Devatā (देवता):—Mitra is the Devatātman,—the Shining One, the Intelligence, the Self identifying Himself with, and manifesting Himself as, day and prāṇa or upward current of life-breath. Varuṇa is the Intelligence concerned with night and apāna or downward current of life-breath, Aryaman with the eye and the sun, Indra with strength, Bṛhaspati with speech and buddhi or intellect, Viṣṇu with the feet. These and others are the Devatās working in the individual organism.

May all these Devatās be propitious to us. It is only when these are propitious to us that wisdom can be studied, retained in memory and imparted to others without any obstacle. Hence the prayer to them to be propitious. (See Taittirīya-Upaniṣad 1.1 with Śaṅkarāchārya’s commentary)

context information

Vedanta (वेदान्त, vedānta) refers to a school of orthodox Hindu philosophy (astika), drawing its subject-matter from the Upanishads. There are a number of sub-schools of Vedanta, however all of them expound on the basic teaching of the ultimate reality (brahman) and liberation (moksha) of the individual soul (atman).

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Devata (देवत).—33 crores;¹ 30 crores?² Relations of, with Sages and Pitṛs.³

• 1) Vāyu-purāṇa 30. 160.
• 2) Ib. 61. 138.
• 3) Ib. 62. 21.

context information

The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)

Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira

Devatā (देवता) or Devatābhakta refers to “religious men”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 15) (“On the nakṣatras—‘asterisms’”), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “Those who are born on the lunar day of Uttarāṣāḍha will be chief ministers or wrestlers; will keep elephants and horses, will be religious (devatābhakta); will be men of principles; soldiers; happy and of bright appearance. Those who are born on the lunar day of Śravaṇa will be cunning, of active habits, efficient workmen, bold, virtuous, god-fearing and truthful”.

context information

Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.

Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy)

Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions

Devatā (देवता) refers to “(all the) Gods”, according to the 9th-century Sarvajñānottaratantra chapter 18.—Accordingly, “Next, I shall teach the best observance among observances, which is known as the Śiva-vrata and which is revered by Asuras and Gods alike. [...] Next, I shall teach the characteristics of a temple of Śiva, as well as [how to perform] the installation of the liṅga, in which the universe is [itself] ‘installed’. All the gods (devatā), beginning with Brahmā, reside in the Liṅga; therefore a Yogin who venerates his guru, God and the fire and who has performed his vidyāvrata should install the liṅga, following the procedure taught in scripture. [...]”.

context information

Shaiva (शैव, śaiva) or Shaivism (śaivism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshiping Shiva as the supreme being. Closely related to Shaktism, Shaiva literature includes a range of scriptures, including Tantras, while the root of this tradition may be traced back to the ancient Vedas.

Yoga (school of philosophy)

Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions (yoga)

Devatā (देवता) refers to the “deities (of the seats)”, according to the Amṛtasiddhi, a 12th-century text belonging to the Haṭhayoga textual tradition.—Accordingly, “There are oceans, rivers, regions [and] guardians of the regions; gathering places, sacred sites, seats [of deities and] the deities of the seats (pīṭha-devatā)”.

context information

Yoga is originally considered a branch of Hindu philosophy (astika), but both ancient and modern Yoga combine the physical, mental and spiritual. Yoga teaches various physical techniques also known as āsanas (postures), used for various purposes (eg., meditation, contemplation, relaxation).

Vastushastra (architecture)

Source: archive.org: Catalogue of Pancaratra Agama Texts (vastu)

1) Devatā (देवता) refers to the “Gods (placed on the temple-site)”, as discussed in chapter 7 of the Ādikāṇḍa of the Hayaśīrṣasaṃhitā: a large Pāñcarātra Āgama consisting of roughly 6500 verses dealing primarily with architecture, temple-building and consecration rituals and iconography.—Description of the chapter [devatā-vibhāga]: The area around the precincts of the temple-site should be levelled, then in the middle a stake is driven down and, from it, the directions are fixed. With strings the limits of the space are marked out—whereupon Brahmins are fed (1-8). The place is cleared of refuse, during the course of which omens should be attended to (9-14). Then the vāstupuruṣa-figure is indicated on the ground in the form of a detailed diagram (15-30).

2) Devatā (देवता) refers to the “deities (on the outside walls of the vimāna-structure)”, as discussed in chapter 9 (Kriyāpāda) of the Padmasaṃhitā: the most widely followed of Saṃhitā covering the entire range of concerns of Pāñcarātra doctrine and practice (i.e., the four-fold formulation of subject matter—jñāna, yoga, kriyā and caryā) consisting of roughly 9000 verses.—Description of the chapter [mūrdheṣṭakāvidhi-vimānadevatākalpana]: [...] [After placing the Śikhākumbha-pot]—The narrative turns then to the installation of the numerous icons of deities (devatā) and other decorations to be placed in specified niches on the outside superstructure of the storeyed vimāna—with certain alternatives for placements offered (42-66a). Other deities are to be found along the basements, illustrating certain divine stories and manifestations (66b-70a). [...]

context information

Vastushastra (वास्तुशास्त्र, vāstuśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian science (shastra) of architecture (vastu), dealing with topics such architecture, sculpture, town-building, fort building and various other constructions. Vastu also deals with the philosophy of the architectural relation with the cosmic universe.

Mantrashastra (the science of Mantras)

Source: archive.org: Catalogue of Pancaratra Agama Texts (mantra)

1) Devatā (देवता) refers to the “addressee of a mantra” and represents one of the twelve aṅgas of Mantras used for japa-purposes, as discussed in chapter 27 (Caryāpāda) of the Padmasaṃhitā: the most widely followed of Saṃhitā covering the entire range of concerns of Pāñcarātra doctrine and practice (i.e., the four-fold formulation of subject matter—jñāna, yoga, kriyā and caryā) consisting of roughly 9000 verses.—Description of the chapter [matsyādi-mūrtimantra-kathana]: [...] In the middle of the chapter, there is a brief digression about the twelve aṅgas of any mantra used for japa-purposes. These twelve being [e.g., its devatā-addressee] [...] [The discussion here is somewhat different from that found in other texts.]

2) Devatā (देवता) refers to the “presiding deity” (of a Mantra), as discussed in chapter 6 of the Viśvāmitrasaṃhitā: a Pāñcarātra text comprising some 2600 Sanskrit verses covering topics such as initiation (dīkṣā) and the construction, decoration and consecration of temples and icons, as well as routines of regular and special worship cycles.—Description of the chapter [praṇavādi-uddhāra]: [...] Viśvāmitra points out that the main thing concerned in the instruction is mantra-lore, commencing with basic information about the praṇava-syllable (mantra) including its ṛṣi-originator, chandas-metre, devatā-presiding deity, its aṅga-variants, its bīja-components, its śakti-powers, etc. One who does not know all those things about any given mantra cannot possibly derive benefits from its use. [...]

context information

Mantrashastra (शिल्पशास्त्र, mantraśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian science of mantras—chants, incantations, spells, magical hymns, etc. Mantra Sastra literature includes many ancient books dealing with the methods reciting mantras, identifying and purifying its defects and the science behind uttering or chanting syllables.

General definition (in Hinduism)

Source: Hindupedia: The Hindu Encyclopedia

Devata is a constituent of sacrifice as well as its result. Devatas consume the havis offered in a sacrifice and give the result of sacrifice performed. As a result of sacrifice, along with the desired result, the grace of devata remains. When sacrifice is performed without desiring a result, devata’s grace remains the result of sacrifice. Devata is mantra-baddha, meaning He is bound to give the result of a sacrifice/mantra when invoked. Thus the result of any form of worship is bound to come.

In Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Tibetan Buddhism

Devatā (देवता) refers to one of the female Śrāvakas mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Devatā).

context information

Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: Wisdom Library: Jainism

Devatā (देवता, “celestial beings”) refers to “attributing faults the celestial beings” and is one of the causes leading to the influx (āsrana) of faith-deluding (darśana-mohanīya) karmas.

Devatā is a Sanskrit technical term defined in the Tattvārthasūtra (ancient authorative Jain scripture) from the 2nd century, which contains aphorisms dealing with philosophy and the nature of reality.

Source: Encyclopedia of Jainism: Tattvartha Sutra 6: Influx of karmas

Devatā (देवता).—What is meant by finding faults in the celestial beings (devatā-avarṇavāda)? To call the celestial beings as eaters of meat, consumer of alcohol and enjoying sex with other women is finding faults with the gods and goddesses.

context information

Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.

Languages of India and abroad

Pali-English dictionary

Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary

devatā : (f.) a deity.

Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary

Devatā, (f.) (deva+tā, qualitative-abstr. suffix, like Lat. juventa, senecta, Goth. hauhipa, Ohg. fullida cp. Sk. pūrṇatā, bandhutā etc.) “condition or state of a deva, ” divinity; divine being, deity, fairy. The term comprises all beings which are otherwise styled devas, & a list of them given at Nd² 308 & based on the principle that any being who is worshipped (or to whom an offering is made or a gift given: de-vatā=yesaṃ deti, as is expressed in the conclusion “ye yesaṃ dakkhiṇeyyā te tesaṃ devatā”) is a devatā, comprises 5 groups of 5 kinds each, viz. (1) ascetics; (2) domestic animals (elephants, horses, cows, cocks, crows); (3) physical forces & elements (fire, stone etc.); (4) lower gods (: bhumma devā) (nāgā, suvaṇṇā, yakkhā, asurā, gandhabbā); (5) higher gods (: inhabitants of the devaloka proper) Mahārājā, Canda, Suriya, Inda, Brahmā), to which are added the 2 aspects of the sky-god as devadevatā & disā-devatā).—Another definition at VvA.21 simply states: devatā ti devaputto pi Brahmā pi devadhītā pi vuccati.—Among the var. deities the foll. are frequently mentioned: rukkha° tree-gods or dryads M.I, 306; J.I, 221; PvA.5; vatthu° earth gods (the four kings) Pv 4¹; PvA.17; vana° wood-nymphs M.I, 306; samudda° water-sprites J.II, 112 etc. etc. ‹-› D.I, 180 (mahiddhikā, pl.), 192; II, 8, 87, 139, 158; S.I, sq.; IV, 302; M.I, 245; II, 37; A.I, 64, 210, 211; II, 70 (sapubba°); III, 77 (bali-paṭiggāhikā), 287 (saddhāya samannāgatā); 309; IV, 302 sq., 390 (vippaṭisāriniyo); V, 331; Sn.45, 316, 458, 995, 1043; Dh.99; J.I, 59, 72, 223, 256; IV, 17, 474; Vv 16³; Pv.II, 1¹⁰; KhA 113, 117; PvA.44.

— or —

Devata, (adj.) (-°) having such & such a god as one’s special divinity, worshipping, a worshipper of, devotee of Miln.234 (Brahma°+Brahma (garuka).—f. devatā in pati° “worshipping the husband, ” i.e. a devoted wife J.III, 406; VvA.128. (Page 330)

context information

Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

dēvata (देवत).—n (Properly daivata) A god. 2 fig. A darling, fondling, tiddling, pet.

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dēvatā (देवता).—f (S) A god or deity. 2 Divinity, godship, divine power or essence.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

dēvata (देवत).—n A god. A darling, fondling.

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dēvatā (देवता).—f A god or deity. Divinity.

context information

Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Devatā (देवता).—

1) Divine dignity or power, divinity; शाकल्य तस्य का देवतेत्यमृतमिति होवाच (śākalya tasya kā devatetyamṛtamiti hovāca) Bṛ. Up.3.9.1; cf. ŚB. on MS. 1.4.23;6.3.19.

2) A deity, god; Kumārasambhava 1.1.

3) The image of a deity; Manusmṛti 4.13.

4) An idol.

5) An organ of sense.

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Devāṭa (देवाट).—Name of a sacred place called Harihara.

Derivable forms: devāṭaḥ (देवाटः).

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Devaṭa (देवट).—An artisan, a mechanic.

Derivable forms: devaṭaḥ (देवटः).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Devata (देवत).—m., nt., divinity; interpreted by Weller 36 as = Sanskrit daivata; that may have something to do with it, but see § 9.4; in part it seems also a matter of use of m. and nt. endings (and modifiers) with f. noun (devatā): kasmān name devate (acc. pl.) Lalitavistara 120.12 (verse), why should he bow to the gods?; devataiḥ 221.5 and 10 (verses; only v.l. devaiḥ, unmetrical(ly)); -devataiḥ, °tair also 281.5, 8 (verse, no v.l.); kiṃcid giridevatam vā nadīdevataṃ vā (n. sg.) 382.6 (prose; Calcutta (see LV.) daiv°); ete catvāro bodhivṛkṣade- vatās (m. n. pl.) 401.22 (prose), and tān devatān (acc. pl.) 402.2; anye…-devatāḥ 421.9 (verse), and in next line teṣāṃ, referring to these devatāḥ; in Divyāvadāna 209.5 (prose) ane- kābhir Vaiśālīvananivāsinībhir devatair (despite fem. adjs.!).

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Devatā (देवता) or Devatī.—(the form °tī is cited by [Ardha-Māgadhī Dictionary] from a manuscript work as = Devakī, the mother of Kṛṣṇa!), divinity: only noted in Sādhanamālā, but fairly com- mon there, by the side of devatā; devatyaḥ, °tyo Sādhanamālā 140.11; 180.10; 185.19; -tyor, loc. dual, 191.22; daśade- vatīparivṛtaṃ 195.6; sarvāsāṃ °tīnāṃ 199.4, etc.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Devaṭa (देवट).—mfn.

(-ṭaḥ-ṭā-ṭaṃ) An artist, an artisan. E. div to sport, aṭan Unadi aff.

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Devatā (देवता).—f.

(-tā) 1. A god, a deity or divine being. 2. Divinity; see devatva. E. deva divine, svārthe tal affix of the abstract: in the first case, an added; of whom the attribute is divinity.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Devatā (देवता).—[deva + tā], f. The state or nature of a deity, Mahābhārata 13, 308. 2. A deity, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 2, 176. 3. A sacred image, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 4, 130.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Devatā (देवता).—1. [feminine] godhead, divinity ([abstract] & concr.); a god or idol.

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Devatā (देवता).—2. ([instrumental] [adverb]) like a god or among the gods.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus Catalogorum

Devaṭa (देवट) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—poet. [Subhāshitāvali by Vallabhadeva]

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Devatā (देवता):—[=deva-tā] [from deva] a See devatā.

2) Devāṭa (देवाट):—[from deva] m. Name of a sacred bathing. place, [Varāha-purāṇa] (cf. patny-āṭa).

3) Devatā (देवता):—[from deva] b f. godhead, divinity (abstr. & concr.), [Ṛg-veda; Atharva-veda; Brāhmaṇa] etc.

4) [v.s. ...] image of a deity, idol, [Manu-smṛti iv, 130; Mahābhārata; Purāṇa] (ifc. -ka, [Manvarthamuktāvalī, kullūka bhaṭṭa’s Commentary on manu-smṛti viii, 105])

5) [v.s. ...] Name of the organs of sense (cf. deva), [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa ii, 5, 2, 2 etc.]

6) [v.s. ...] ind. with divinity id est. with a god (gods) or among the gods, [Ṛg-veda; Atharva-veda]

7) Devaṭa (देवट):—m. (√dev? [Uṇādi-sūtra iv, 81 [Scholiast or Commentator]]) artist, artisan.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Devaṭa (देवट):—[(ṭaḥ-ṭā-ṭaṃ) a.] An artist.

2) Devatā (देवता):—(tā) 1. f. A god; divinity.

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Devatā (देवता) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Devayā.

[Sanskrit to German]

Devata in German

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

Hindi dictionary

Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary

Devatā (देवता):—(nm) a god, deity; divine being; —[kūca kara jānā] to be dumb -founded, to be terribly nervous.

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Nepali dictionary

Source: unoes: Nepali-English Dictionary

Devatā (देवता):—n. 1. deity; God; 2. divine character; divinity; 3. idol; 4. king; Brahmin; saint;

context information

Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.

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