Home›Buddhist Deities›PantheonBrowse ByPantheonThis page groups deities by the named pantheon or deity type they belong to, the specific cultural system of gods such as the Greek, Norse or Egyptian pantheon. Wikipedia defines a pantheon as "the particular set of all gods of any individual polytheistic religion, mythology, or tradition." Browsing this way lets a visitor stay inside one mythological system, or compare the same role, such as a sky god, across several pantheons at once.FactsLearn MorePantheonSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsAttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedInherited devas appear in the earliest canonical strata; the celestial buddhas and bodhisattvas emerge with the Mahayana sutras around the turn of the era; the wrathful tantric deities from about the seventh century CE. All remain in worship. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedVenerated today across the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. 2OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedCelestial and enlightened figures venerated across the Buddhist world: buddhas and bodhisattvas, tantric deities and protectors, and devas inherited from Indian and local pantheons. Buddhism posits no creator god and the historical Buddha is not one. The grouping is a convenience of this atlas rather than a category the tradition uses. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedCalling buddhas, bodhisattvas and protectors deities imports a category Buddhist doctrine does not use. The tradition's own classes - buddha, bodhisattva, deva, dharmapala - do not map onto one another, and none of them maps onto the word god. 2Learn MoreThe divine figures of Buddhism This group gathers the celestial and enlightened figures venerated across the Buddhist world. Classical Buddhism does not posit a creator god, and the historical Buddha is remembered as an awakened teacher rather than a deity; yet the tradition developed a vast pantheon of buddhas, bodhisattvas, protectors and inherited gods, especially in its Mahayana and Vajrayana forms. The browser will find cosmic buddhas such as Amitabha and Vairocana, the compassion-bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin, Chenrezig) and the wisdom-bodhisattva Manjushri, the future buddha Maitreya, wrathful protectors, and devas absorbed from Hindu and local traditions. Provenance and school (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana) shape which figures appear and how they are understood.PantheonFilter Results1 entryDivine HeadshipAllNo sovereign; the gods act as peers (1)Era of Attestation End YearAll2026 (1)Era of Attestation Start YearAll500 BCE (1)How Mortals Enter the PantheonAllAny person may reach the state the tradition venerates, by practice rather than by grant (1)Membership of the PantheonAllForeign gods are adopted and identified with gods already held (1)Principal Cult CentreAllBodh Gaya, where the awakening is placed (1)Structure of the PantheonAllMany deities understood as forms of one supreme reality (1)Succession Between Divine GenerationsAllPower dissolves and is renewed on a cosmic cycle rather than inherited (1)The Creator and the Ruling GodsAllThe world was formed from pre-existing matter or from a slain being, with no creator god (1)Veneration TodayAllActively venerated in a living tradition (1)Show ResultsBuddhistPantheon33 entriesSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhismtier 1Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr., Princeton University Press, 2014s.v. deva; s.v. bodhisattvaView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.