Deva (Buddhism)

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A Deva (Sanskrit and Pali: देव; Mongolian: тэнгэр, tenger) in Buddhism is a type of celestial being or god who shares the god-like characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, much happier than humans, although the same level of veneration is not paid to them as to Buddhas.

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.

In East Asian Buddhism, the word deva is translated as 天 (literally "heaven") or 天人 (literally "heavenly person") (see the Chinese, Japanese and Korean versions of this article for more). The feminine equivalent of deva, devi, is sometimes translated as 天女 (literally "heavenly female"), in names such as 吉祥天女 [zh] or 辯才天女 [zh], although 天 alone can be used instead.