(Sanskrit: "divine") In the Vedic religion of India, one of many divine powers, roughly divided into sky, air, and earth divinities.
During the Vedic period, the gods were divided into two classes, the devas and the asura s. In India the deva s gradually came to be more powerful, and the asura s came to be thought of as demon s. In the monotheistic systems that emerged by the late Vedic period, the deva s were subordinate to one supreme being.