Abstract
In the paritta ritual performed in contemporary Theravada Buddhism, we can recognize a number of devas, who are to be found in the canonical Pali literature. For example, the monks who are responsible for the paritta ritual offer an invocation to devas, saying “atra agacchantu devata (gods, come here!)”.
The main paritta scriptures are the Mangalasutta, Ratanasutta, Kalaniyamettasutta, Dhammacakkappavattanasutta, and Mahasamayasutta, within which we find influences on devas reflected repeatedly. At the end of the paritta ritual, monks say “gacchantu devatagata (Divine ones, go away!)”.
In this paritta ritual, monks invite many devas to the place of the ritual, and offer some words that include a request to devas. At the end of the ritual, monks cause the devas to return. This paritta ritual resembles rituals of Hindu puja in structure.
