Angels-GANDHARVAS

Angels are most prominent in monotheistic traditions, which need
intermediaries between an exalted divinity and humanity. Mediating
beings are less important for religious systems with many deities,
because, in most such belief systems, the gods or goddesses themselves can manifest in the world without contradicting their basic nature. In
their attempts to discover parallel beings in other religions, contemporary
researchers studying angels often mention an unusual
Hindu/Buddhist spirit being traditionally referred to as a gandharva.
Gandharvas are frequently mentioned in the Vedas, the oldest
body of Hindu religious literature. It is difficult to determine the precise
meaning or set of meanings the term gandharva had in the early
Vedic period. By the time of the emergence of classical Hinduism,
gandharvas had come to be regarded primarily as the musicians of
heaven. Their status as celestial musicians and their depiction as
winged men are the only two characteristics that might lead one to
associate them with Western angels. Otherwise, their activities are
decidedly nonangelic.
For example, they are said to take particular interest in sex, and
are also said to be married to the apsaras, the Hindu equivalent of
wood nymphs. Their sexual appetite is such an important part of their
identity that gandharva “marriages” are unions brought about by affection,
without the benefit of any formal marriage rite. In the time of
Buddha, it was believed that it was necessary for a gandharva to be
present before conception was possible. In the Vedas, gandharvas are
described variously as atmospheric deities associated with rain clouds
and as nature spirits living in the trees. The Atharva Veda even contains
incantations designed to ban gandharvas from sacrificial rites,
which indicates that they were originally beings to be feared. Without
the appropriate propitiatory offerings, they could even cause madness.