Deva (Buddhism)

Other words used in Buddhist texts to refer to similar supernatural beings are devatā ("deities") and devaputta ("son of god").

While the former is a synonym for deva ("celestials"), the latter refers specifically to one of these beings who is young and has newly arisen in its heavenly world.

The feminine equivalent of deva, devi, is sometimes translated as 天女 (literally "heavenly female"), in names such as 吉祥天女 or 辯才天女, although 天 alone can be used instead.

The higher devas of the Kāmadhātu live in four heavens that float in the air, leaving them free from contact with the strife of the lower world.

They are: The lower devas of the Kāmadhātu live on different parts of the mountain at the center of the world, Sumeru.

Humans are said to have originally had many of the powers of the devas: not requiring food, the ability to fly through the air, and shining by their own light.

There is also a humanistic definition of 'deva' [male] and 'devi' [female] ascribed to Gautama Buddha: a god is a moral person.

[19] Furthermore, even a deva having consumed all the good karma within the pleasurable existence in this realm, can be reborn in Naraka.