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For Ishta-deva in the Vajrayana Buddhist context, see Yidam.



Variations in practices[edit]

Using the literal translation of the words Ishta Devata, or deity of choice a professed practice or anushatan is not really needed. Most Hindu deities are depicted with multiple hands depicting the abundance the gods wanting to shower on the devout. Hence the need of a ritual or an ascribed form of practice is not really mandatory.

There is no universally accepted perspective of God throughout the branches of Hinduism, and thus the specific nature of belief and worship regarding a practitioner's Ishta-deva depends largely on which tradition they are following. However, no matter which tradition attracts the devotee's mind and heart, Hinduism teaches Ekam Sadvipraha Bahudha Vadanti, i.e., "While Truth is One, the Names are Many." Adherents of the monistic schools (such as Advaita Vedanta) worship multiple forms of God as emanations from the ultimately formless Brahman, whereas followers of the bhakti traditions may worship a particular form or Avatar of Vishnu, Shiva or Ganesha as the Supreme God (Ishvara) in the dualistic sense.

Even in Vaishnavite traditions, a particular form of Vishnu is favored by the devotee. For example, Hanuman's Ishta-deva was Lord Ramachandra. Other notable examples would be that of Tulsidas who was another devotee of Rama and Mirabai a devotee of Krishna.

Formal Smarta worship[edit]

The "worship of the five forms" (pañcāyatana pūjā) system, which was popularized by the ninth-century philosopher Śaṅkarācārya among orthodox Brahmins of the Smārta tradition, invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devī, and Sūrya.[3][4] This system was instituted by Śaṅkarācārya primarily to unite the principal deities of the five major sects (Gāṇapatya, Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava, Shakta and Soūra) on an equal status. The monistic philosophy preached by Śaṅkarācārya made it possible to choose one of these as a preferred principal deity and at the same time worship the other four deities as different forms of the same all-pervading Brahman.

Forms of worship[edit]

Murti of Ishta Dev of Sindhi people Jhulelal


Remembering the deity and internally building a relationship with (or through) them is considered essential to the practice. Within the Advaita schools it is believed that the human mind needs a concrete form to understand the divine that ultimately can never be defined. Just as one can understand the abstract concept of a color only after one has seen a concrete form, one can only realize the deity through a form of murti. In contrast, the Dvaita associated schools believe the Supreme Being to possess a divine form, and offer worship to their Ishta-deva as either a representation or direct expansion of the Supreme Person. For example Vaishnava schools offer worship exclusively to murtis of Vishnu, or his associated avatars such as Krishna or Rama.

Shaivites worship Shiva, either figuratively, or through his Lingam murti. As Shaivism contains both monistic and dualistic traditions either (or both) of the above approaches may be applicable.

Human Ishta-devas?[edit]

Within a number of Hindu traditions, both presently and in the past, living people have claimed (or are claimed by followers) to be Avatars of a divine or Supreme being. In these cases followers have then in some instances worshipped these individuals as Ishta-devas. Although these tend to be minority groups within Hinduism, it has been a growing tendency in modern times (the followers of Sai Baba being one such example). This often attracts criticism from other Hindu traditions who do not share the same belief.

Swami Tapasyananda of Ramakrishna Mission, in his book, Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, pg. 50, on commentating about this phenomenon, said:




As early as the seventeenth century, a Vaishnavite saint, Raghavendra Swami, in his last speech before departing from the mortal world, warned about the dangers of fraudulent gurus by saying:


See also[edit]


  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Grimes, John A. Ganapati: Song of the Self. (State University of New York Press: Albany, 1995) p. 162.
  4. ^ Dating for the pañcāyatana pūjā and its connection with Smārta Brahmins is from p. 163, Courtright, Paul B. Gaṇeśa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings. (Oxford University Press: New York, 1985). ISBN 0-19-505742-2

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