KULA DEVATHA OR TUTELARY/FAMILY DEITIES:
ORIGIN AND CONCEPT
-Santhipriya-

173. Why should group of Kuladevathas created? It is similar to how the govt function with layers of administrators. The first line and second line of divines were meant to address the problems and safeguard the land and the folks sitting in main lands. They had to take several incarnations to to settle the issues for which those incarnations were needed and therefore they cannot get confined themselves to one small group of folks or smaller lands. Their role is major. Therefore, as their agents, several deities were created and sent by them to smaller areas to address the problems of folks and the lands.
174. Most of the Kuladevathas were cursed and sinned Devaganas, initially turned into smaller deities (from third line of divines) over periods of time. Prior to enter into the vast land of humans, they were divine energies inside Supreme when for billions of years when the rehearsal was taking place inside the body of Supreme to train them to occupy the lands after the vast land and ocean  was released by him .
175. During the rehearsal inside the body of Supreme, many ganas incurred sins or got curses. Therefore, they were ordered to take birth along with humans stay invisible in the vast land allotted to each one of them and suffer divine punishments for certain period of time fixed to get back the divine status again. Their punishment was to remain   in arduous tapas/meditation for long period of time seeking condemnation for their wrongful acts. Thereafter they    reveal themselves to the folks of the land at appropriate time line as  programmed  by Brahma.
176. The nature of sins acquired by the Deva ganas in ‘Supreme’ Loga is different from the humans who get afflicted with sins on earth. Both are different. Those Deva ganas and divines which deliberately evaded their duties in ‘Supreme’ Loga were afflicted with sin/curses, which was considered to be more heinous crime than the sin acquired by the one on earth.
177. This is how the sinned ganas who came  to earth to get relieved of their curses  struggled for long period of time till some first line of divine intervened to pardon and relieve them of their curses or sins and get back their guardian deities, village deities, Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity status to them. But none of those divine dramas were known to the folks of the land and only spiritual masters and divine incarnates  understood them.
178. If one read the texts in Puranas and history of temples, they will find  many stories that state that several divines manifested as human  and penanced to get the curses reversed in specific spots indicated to them on earth. During the atonement period they were allowed to exercise only very limited divine powers in discreet manner to benefit mankind but were not allowed to exercise full powers because they had to suffer in  human land to atone their sins.
179. The norms of Brahma were very clear in this sphere. If the divines were permitted to carry out their entire divine energies when they were in human form, they could misuse them to soften the nature of punishments during their stay on earth. Similar to the humans who struggle to get freed of their past karma through prayers, services etc, in the same manner the cursed divines who came to the earth for penance should also get freed of their karmas (sins/curses) only by struggle and therefore to prevent misuse of divine powers the powers were curtailed during the period of penance.
180. In earlier parts of my article, I had mentioned that before sending souls into space on earth, Brahma divided the spaces into several divisions, each imbibed with several qualities, the qualities which were not uniform with one another, and the souls which reached there absorbed those qualities which were in the form of energy rays. The qualities were both negative and positive in nature and in the form of energy rays. Here too Brahma deliberately left one issue open. Similar to the freedom given to the souls to choose their area of destination on spaces, Brahma’s norms mysteriously did not specify the kind and quantum of the characteristic rays of the land to be absorbed by those who landed in that space but was left to the discretion of the souls.
181. The traditional folks still believed in the worship of multiple divine forms instead of confining themselves to only Kula Devatha worship for their spiritual enlightenment, safeguard families and for progress in life. However, they did not entirely abandon worship of Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity who may either be a male or female divine as worshipped by their ancestors in their families.
182. The concept of Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity worship prevail on high note only in India, especially in the southern part of India. Hence this article is mostly confined to the worship pattern in India and only for comparison of the divine worship pattern in different other other countries in the universe, they have also been given in concluding paras.
183. Were entire humans born on land worshipped some form of Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity?  Who guided, guarded and granted the prayers of   humans who had not adapted any tutelary or family deity?
184. Not entire human race had Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deities. Only those belonging to families who had Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity for generations continued to worship them while the rest worshipped other divines of their choice in the same area or elsewhere as Ishta Devathas (Divine of liking), got guided and guarded by their grace as long as they worshipped them sincerely.
185. What about the powers of the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family?  Where will they all settle? Can the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deities move over from one territory  to another or will they have multiple territories to control?
186. The divine rule was such that the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity would enjoy enormous powers like first and second lines of divines in all respects as they were also manifestations through their divine energies sent  to carry on their duties and to function independently without interference from other divines.
187. The divine rule was that the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity or any other divines manifested in an area remain confined to their territories alone and remain non interfering in each other’s domain.
188. Though specific territory may have been allotted for divines in the initial stages, geographical changes which include erosion, migration of people, desertification and globalization could alter the characteristics of the land. Therefore, their authority will also increase subject to the condition that the expanded territories have not been allotted to any other divine by Brahma. This is another divine rule.
189. Human migration involved the movement of people from one place to another territory either in family units or in large groups for whatever reasons. In such scenario when people in mass scale migrate to another land, who would guide and guard those folks who had worshipped Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity in the land from where they migrated?
190. In order to safeguard their interest and guide them, the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity of migrant forces too, were allowed to  enter into others territory and exercise control over those who were already under their custody in the earlier land from where they migrated. At the same time, the divine rule stipulated that the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity thus entering into others territory will  not in any manner interfere into the working of the other Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity already functioning there for some other group of folks.
191. Similarly, the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity under whose command the territory lay will also not obstruct to the entry of the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity from other territories to guide and guard those migrant folks who were under their control in the territories from where they migrated. Both sets of Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deities will have to confine to the act of safeguarding only those folks assigned to them thus strictly adhering to the rule of divine framed.

192. How does this system work? Let’s assume that in a village called Nalamangala, 200 families were under the command of four Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deities and a territory non represented by any Kula Devatha as assigned by Brahma. Each Tutelary/Family deity or Kula Devatha, (Say A,B,C and D deities) had say 25 to 30 families each under their control. The remaining families (those without Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deities), say around 50 or more were left to worship some other divines of their choice as Ishta Devatha  or in any other name or belong to any other religion either in the same space (the Village or towns are referred in this article as space) or elsewhere beyond the said territory.
193. Let us say for some reason or the other, some members of a family (Let us call them ‘A’ group) perform Yagna or other Pooja praying their Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity or Ishta Devatha or some prime divines to harm certain family (Let us call them ‘B’ group) inimical to them.
194. Howsoever powerful the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity of ‘A’ may be, or the prime divines who were prayed, they cannot unilaterally accede to the request of ‘A’ group to harm ‘B’ group who sincerely  and  regularly maintained worship of their Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity and had also not actually committed any crime against members of group ‘A’.
195. Therefore, before granting the wishes of ‘A’ group , the divines who were prayed would have to first consult the tutelary deities of ‘B’ group and discuss the issue and if need be act to benefit ‘A’ group after getting the  consent of Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity of ‘B’ provided the prayers of ‘A’ group was genuine.
196. No divines can unilaterally  cause harm to members of other group by granting the wishes of those who prayed to them without informing or consulting the tutelary deities of other groups as  tough restriction in divine norms exist.
197. As per divine norm if arbitrary decisions are taken by the divines to cause harm to the families under control of another Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity /or  deities and without mutual consultation, such divine acts would be construed as violation of divine norm and infringement into the divine rights of the other deities; the awarded boon will fail to cause ill effect. The illegally acted divine will lose their divine power temporarily for some period of time as mark of punishment.
198. Since the devotees of the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deities are ring protected with the divine rays of the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deities, the incoming harmful energies of group ‘A’ deities will get blocked unless they had the prior permission from deities of ‘B’. The divines which defy the rule and attempt to arbitrarily rule over the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity will get attracted by sins or curse from Brahma and lose their divine powers temporarily.

199. This is how in one manner or the other even the prime divines too get curses unknowingly. Thus, the regular and continuous worship of Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity give protective cover to those families under the guard of Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity.
200. There is however a small rider in this norm too. Since the divines are also meant for establishing law of justice and love amongst mankind, if the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity finds that the group ‘B’ had been wanton sinners against group ‘A’, then the Kula Devatha or Tutelary/Family deity of group ‘B’ would temporarily withdraw their protective cover from group ‘B’ to ensure that the canon of divine justice by way of boons given by prime divines to group ‘A’ are not blocked in any manner.

……….continued Serial No 201
References to all these points in last part