devas

Devas are celestial beings described in Indian religious traditions. The word comes from Sanskrit deva, meaning “a shining one” or “god.” In the Vedas, devas are divine beings who inhabit the heavens, oversee natural forces, and sustain the cosmic order. They form a large pantheon that includes figures such as Indra, Varuna, Agni, Surya, and Soma, as well as goddesses like Saraswati and Lakshmi. Devas are typically depicted as powerful, long‑lived beings who interact with humans, grant boons, and receive offerings, yet they are part of a broader spiritual framework rather than ultimate beings.

In Hinduism, devas occupy the heavenly realms (Svarga) and participate in myths, rituals, and moral exempla. While they are revered and invoked in worship, many Hindu traditions treat devas as aspects or manifestations of a higher reality rather than as independent supreme gods. Devotion to a supreme deity or to a personal god, such as Vishnu or Shiva, is often emphasized as the path to liberation, with devas themselves subject to karma and rebirth.

In Buddhist cosmology, devas inhabit various heavenly realms within the samsaric universe. They possess great powers and long lifespans but remain bound by karma and impermanence; their existence does not provide liberation. In Jainism, devas also appear as celestial beings in the heavens, yet they too are conditioned by karma and do not constitute a path to spiritual release.

Across traditions, devas denote a broad category of divine beings distinct from humans and from ultimate, formless divinity. They are sometimes contrasted with asuras in earlier texts and serve different roles within each tradition’s cosmology and soteriology.