Devata

(6) Can these devatas, demigods between heaven and earth, be identified as semi-wrathful female Hindu Tantric divinities, or rather, as is written in the ancient texts, as goddesses with beautiful physiognomies and with a wrathful capacity that represents their holy violence and powerful protective energy?

Devotees also believe that every day the devatas offer their prayers to Lord Vishnu on the doors of Vaikuntha.

Devatas (female deities) are also represented on the inner walls, their complex hairdos and divine garments frozen eternally in bas-relief.

This is reflected in the subject matter that predominates in the cave paintings: the Buddha teaching, Jataka tales, bodhisattvas, and flying musical devatas (Tucker, 154-5).

The local devis and devatas are the ones that villagers turn to for everyday problems, and their festivals and rathyatras bring the local community together in mass celebrations.

Because of Camadevi's meritorious splendor (punnanubhavena), a host of devatas brought a powerful elephant to be an auspicious protector (mangalavaranatthaya) (pp.

The figure is carved in the round with an elaborate parikara (aura shown with the parivara devatas, associated divinities).

Amman and Naga Devata posters contain a play on mind-body identity--animals with human "intelligence"; characters with amorphous identities as Naga Devatas; humans, especially women and children, with divine characteristics; and gods with human characteristics.

For example, in TA 5.1.6, which tells how the gods made the body of Makha into the three soma pressings, Houben translates tam strtam devatas tredha vy agrhnata as: "The gods took threefold hold of him who was spread out." The translation is more opaque than need be: "The divinities divided him who was struck down into three portions." Greater attention to the nuances of Vedic syntax would also have permitted greater clarity.

Namely, the PS recognizes ksa as a conjunct, but ascribes to it an appropriately conjunct deity--the man-lion avatar of Visnu (ksakaras tena samjato nrsimhas tasya devata).