Namaste
In another thread I was unable to publish this post because that thread is now closed. There my first post was post #20, and now let me continue from post #87 which was my last post in that thread:
The purpose of this and the previous post is to show whether the definition of the word "demigod" in the dictionary is supported by the scriptures. Here I will quote the dictionary on "demigod" again:
a being with partial or lesser divine status, such as a minor deity ...
a mortal raised to divine rank
The main point of my previous post was to show subordinate status which the jiva souls (including devas because they are these jiva souls) have in comparison with the One God, Supreme God.
What follows are a few examples from the scriptures about One God who is declared as chief among all other gods.
Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.7 says:
tam īśvarāṇāṃ paramaṃ maheśvaraṃ taṃ devatānāṃ paramaṃ ca daivatam
patiṃ patīnāṃ paramaṃ parastād vidāma devaṃ bhuvaneśam īḍyam
"Let us know that highest great lord of lords, the highest deity of deities, the master of masters, the highest above, as god, the lord of the world, the adorable."
Here we have clearly stated that there is a God who is the highest great lord of lords, and the highest deity (God) among other deities or gods (devatānāṃ). This is further confirmed in the following verse 6.8: na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate "no one is greater than Him or equal to Him". So it must be that there is a God who is lord even of other gods!
Maha Narayana Upanishad (translation by Swami Vimalananda with English and Sanskrit) explicitly says that Lord Vishnu is chief among all other gods (devas):
Śrīrmē bhajatu alakṣmīrmē naśyatu. Viṣṇumukhā vai
Dēvāśchandōbhirimāĕnllōkānanapajayyamabhyajayan
"May Sri favour me. May Alakshmi connected with me and mine be destroyed. The gods having Vishnu for their chief ..."
(Maha Narayana Upanishad I-48)
This verse also appears in Taittiriya Aranyaka 10-1-10.
Is there anything more explicit and clearer than the two shruti verses above?
"Let us know that highest great lord of lords, the highest deity of deities ..." and "The gods having Vishnu for their chief"
If we assume that all the gods have the same status and that no chief is amongst them then the above two verses do not make sense at all. These verses must make sense!
This is also confirmed in Smriti scriptures.
Bhagavad-gītā 11.37 (http://vedabase.net/bg/11/37/en) :
"O great one, greater even than Brahmā, ... O limitless one, God of gods, refuge of the universe!"
Here we have stated that Lord Krishna is īśa (a ruler, master, or lord) of the gods (deva): deva-īśa "God of the gods", and also that He is greater even than Lord Brahma. Compare this with the above mentioned verses from Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.7 "Let us know that highest great lord of lords, the highest deity of deities", and Maha Narayana Upanishad I-48 "The gods having Vishnu for their chief". It matches perfectly. Thus Bhagavad gita who is one of the most important Smriti scriptures regularly quoted by the Vedantists, also confirms that Lord Krishna is the ruler of the gods (devas).
Bhāgavatam 10.89.14 (http://vedabase.net/sb/10/89/14-17/) tan niśamyātha munayo vismitā mukta-saḿśayāḥ bhūyāḿsaḿ śraddadhur viṣṇuḿ "the sages were freed from all doubts and became convinced that Viṣṇu is the greatest Lord".
Bhāgavatam 12.13.16 (http://vedabase.net/sb/12/13/16/) devānām acyuto yathā "Lord Acyuta (Vishnu) the supreme among deities".
I think that the above verses quite well supporting the definition of the word "demigod" in the dictionary (see above at the beginning of the post): "a being with lesser divine status, such as a minor deity".
Now comes a few verses from the Maha Narayana Upanishad (translation by Swami Vimalananda):
I-16: Through whose power the gods who have attained immortality in the third region of heaven got allotted their respective places, He is our friend, father and ordainer. He knows the proper places of each because He understands all created beings.
I-48: May Sri favour me. May Alakshmi connected with me and mine be destroyed. The gods having Vishnu for their chief (who is the perpetual abode of Sri) by the help of (the means prescribed in) the Vedas won these worlds for themselves free from the fear of enemies.
LXXVIII-10: Others devoted to the Vedic religion say that sacrifice is the means of liberation. Verily gods have attained heaven by their own prior deeds of sacrifice.
It says that gods (devas) attained heaven and got allotted their respective places through the power of one God (named as Vishnu in verse I-48), they have used the help of the Vedas to fulfill a purpose, and also says "gods have attained heaven by their own prior deeds of sacrifice".
All this means that they are not independent and omnipotent gods, but their power is limited and they are dependent on the power of one Supreme God named Vishnu. It also tells us that these gods are just jiva souls who once lived as humans on Earth and by the help of the Vedas, deeds of sacrifice (pious karma), have attained heaven! What kind of "supreme" god is he who must acquire pious karma to be able to reach heaven?
In fact these three verses tell us that any man (jiva soul) who lives here on Earth can acquire pious karma that will allow him to be born in the next life as one of the gods in heaven. These verses are proof that the devas are just the jivas, they are not the Supreme entity (Supreme Lord).
This is also confirmed in Smriti scriptures.
Bhāgavatam 5.19.21-22 (http://vedabase.net/sb/5/19/21/en) etad eva hi devā gāyanti ...
"all the demigods in heaven speak in this way: ...
(next verse 5.19.22) The demigods continue: After performing the very difficult tasks of executing Vedic ritualistic sacrifices, undergoing austerities, observing vows and giving charity, we have achieved this position as inhabitants of the heavenly planets. But what is the value of this achievement? Here we are certainly very engaged in material sense gratification, and therefore we can hardly remember the lotus feet of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Indeed, because of our excessive sense gratification, we have almost forgotten His lotus feet."
Not only do we see here that devas are jiva souls who achieved their deva position with the help of pious karma, but we see that they are devotees of Lord Narayana (Vishnu): "we can hardly remember the lotus feet of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Indeed, because of our excessive sense gratification, we have almost forgotten His lotus feet."
Every jiva soul should be devoted (with bhakti) to the Supreme Lord. Since the devas are jiva souls this applies to them also.
An additional verses speak of the devas as the jiva souls who have karma and attain various forms of life:
Bhāgavatam 2.10.37-40 (http://vedabase.net/sb/2/10/37-40/en) prajā-patīn manūn devān ... karmaṇāḿ gatayas tv imāḥ.
Bhāgavatam 4.29.29 (http://vedabase.net/sb/4/29/29/) "the living entity is sometimes a male, sometimes a female, sometimes a eunuch, sometimes a human being, sometimes a demigod (devaḥ), sometimes a bird, an animal, and so on. In this way he is wandering within the material world. His acceptance of different types of bodies is brought about by his activities (karma) under the influence of the modes of nature (guṇam)."
I think that the above verses quite well supporting the definition of the word "demigod" in the dictionary (see above at the beginning of the post): "a mortal raised to divine rank" because we have seen that even devas are mortals who ascended from earth to heaven.
Are devas parts of some other god?
This is also confirmed in both Smriti and Shruti scriptures. First examples from Smriti:
About devas as parts of some other God, Lord Krishna in this case. There are plenty of such verses in the scriptures, here I am giving just one typical example.
If you read Bhagavatam canto 1, chapter 3 (
http://vedabase.net/sb/1/3/en) from the beginning up to the verse 1.3.28 (
http://vedabase.net/sb/1/3/28/en) you'll see it mentioned many gods and finally in verse 1.3.28 says:
ete cāḿśa-kalāḥ puḿsaḥ
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
"All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead."
Especially pay attention to the words aḿśa and kalāḥ which means "parts, portions". So all gods mentioned are Lord Krishna's parts.
In fact every living being is a part of Lord Krishna. This is said in the Bhagavad gita 15.7 (
http://vedabase.net/bg/15/7/en) :
mamaivāḿśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
"The living entities (jivas or jiva souls) in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts."
Here also we have word aḿśaḥ "part". This applies to demigods because they are also jivas.
This is illustrated by shruti also. Madhvacarya quoted Rig Veda in the commentary on Bhagavad gita 11.19:
"tadaṅgajāḥ sarvasurādayō.pi tasmāttadaṅgētyṛṣibhiḥ stutāstē" ityṛgvēdakhilēṣu
“Since all the gods having been produced from his parts, they and the seers are praised as the parts of the Lord”
I think that the above verses quite well supporting the definition of the word "demigod" in the dictionary (see above at the beginning of the post): "a being with partial or lesser divine status".
Of additional interest on the topic to the reader my post in the thread Sita is Sri Kamakshi Amman might be of interest.
regards
Bookmarks