Note 31 — TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Reading edition
Many sects have special deities of their own, attended upon by a bhuva of the same order.31 The bhuva holds a high position in the society of his caste-fellows. He believes himself to be possessed by the devi or mātā whose attendant he is, and declares, while possessed by her, the will of the mātā, replying for her to such questions as may be put to him.32 The devis are supposed to appear in specially favoured bhuvas and to endow them with prophetic powers.33