There are 33 devas but thousands of thousands of manifestations of these 33 devas. Do each of these manifestations have their own jiva, or do they share there jiva with other manifestations of the same type?
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No, a deva has only on jiva. A manifestation of a deva means that their consciousness has entered that manifestation. And because their consciousness entered it, the deva can control that manifestation through their own will.– IkshvakuJan 21 at 14:53
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@Ikshvaku Which scripture or scholar are you basing your statement off of?– Terjij KassalJan 23 at 2:43
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I follow Ramanujacharya's school of Sri Vaishnavism.– IkshvakuJan 24 at 2:53
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@Ikshvaku Is this question ever answered anywhere by Ramanujacharya or his followers? Do they ever say a deva only has one jiva?– Terjij KassalJan 24 at 16:15
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Yes they do, and acharyas other than Ramanujacharya share the same belief. A "deva" is a position that a jivatma attains after doing a lot of good karma. And a "manifestation" of a deva is an incarnation of a deva. For example, Aniruddha is a manifestation of Narayana, but Aniruddha is still Narayana because the soul is the same. What makes a manifestation or incarnation is that the consciousness of the Jivatma enters that manifestation or body.– IkshvakuJan 25 at 1:17
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