Devata (pl: devatas, meaning 'the gods') (Devanagari: देवता; Khmer: ទេវតា (tevoda); Thai: เทวดา (tevada); Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Malay: dewata; Batak languages: debata (Toba), dibata (Karo), naibata (Simalungun); diwata (Philippine languages)) are smaller and more focused Devas (Deities) in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. The term "devata" itself can also mean deva. They can be either male or female. Every human activity has its devata, its spiritual counterpart or aspect.
There are many kinds of devatas: vanadevatas (forest spirits, perhaps descendants of early nature-spirit cults), gramadevata (village gods), devatas of river crossings, caves, mountains, and so on. For example, in the Konkan region of India, Hindu devatas are often divided into five categories:[1]
Following are some of the important types of Devatas in Sri Lankan Buddhism:
Some well-known Hindu-Buddhist heavenly beings belong to the group of devatas, such as apsarasorvidhyadaris (female cloud and water spirits) and their male counterparts, the gandharvas (heavenly musicians). Devatas often occur in many Buddhist Jatakas, Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and in many other Buddhist holy scriptures. The island of Bali is nicknamed Pulau Dewata (Indonesian: "islands of devata or island of gods") because of its vivid Hindu culture and traditions. In Indonesia, the term hyang is equivalent to devata. In Hinduism, the devatas that guard the eight, nine and ten cardinal points are called Lokapala (Guardians of the Directions) or, more specifically in ancient Java tradition, Dewata Nawa Sanga (Guardians of Nine Directions).
