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Apsaras fall into two main groups, the first is what many scholars call devatas, the elegant semi-devine ladies who adorn and guard the temple walls.
The second group are celestial nymphs, dancers who entertain the gods and the inhabitants of Indra’s Heaven, and are the sensual rewards of kings and heroes who die bravely. In Hindu mythology they always performed with the celestial musicians, Gandharvas, but in Khmer mythology they were elevated alone to special importance in temple decoration.
To understand the distinction between apsaras and devatas, please see 'Apsara or Devata?'.
For more information on apsaras, please see the relevant articles in My Journal.
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