--- In [email protected], "sparaig" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], Bhairitu <noozguru@> wrote: > > > > cardemaister wrote: > > > --- In [email protected], Bhairitu <noozguru@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > >>> > > >>> > > >> A little Sanskrit 101 here: deva if masculine so devatas refers to the > > >> male deities and if you notice Maharishi only mentions male deities. > > >> OTOH, devi is feminine so devitas refers to the female deities and > > >> > > > if he > > > > > >> had been asked about the "devitas" he would have only mentioned female > > >> deities. So for complete knowledge on the subject one would want to > > >> > > > ask > > > > > >> about both. ;-) > > >> > > >> > > > > > > :D > > > > > > Well, seriously, according to A. A. Macdonell, under "Secondary > > > nominal suffixes", "taa: forms abstract f.[feminine -- CM] substantives > > > with the sense conveyed by the English suffixes /-ship/ and /-ness/; > > > e. g. bandhu-taa /relationship/, vasu-taa /wealthiness/; > > > deva-taa /divinity/, puruSa-taa /human nature/." > > > > > > > > > > > The correction came from my guru. I was discussing "Ishta Devatas" and > > he corrected me to say it is "Ishta Devi" and "Ishta Deva". Of course > > my point was that MMY took the word "devata" literally and spoke only of > > the male deities. > > > > Of course, in English use, the plural of both men and women is masculine... >
FWIW, in Sanskrit and most other languages whose nouns have a gender, it refers, in the vast majority of cases, *only* to the differences between the inflectional paradigms and/or articles of, for instance, masculine, neuter and feminine words.
