Sadhyas are called the Hindu Guardian Gods. They belong to a class of demi-gods. These male deities perform the duty of guarding the prayers and rites of greater deities. Sadhyas are representatives of Vedic prayers and rites. They are born of partakers and meters of the sacrifices. Their mention is amongst the present Manwantara Gods.
Sadhya also means ‘the Mother of the Sadhyas’. Called as Ganadevata they play a vital role in incidents and movements in the Puranas. Sadhyas are off-springs from the seed Virat Purusa. However, they are believed to be Daksa-Prajapati’s grandchildren as per the Vishnu Purana. Prajapati and Asikni, his wife had 60 daughters out of which Dharmadeva had married ten of them. Dharmaveda and Visva, his wife had sons called the Visvadevas. Sadhyas were the sons born to Dharmaveda and Visva, his wife.
According to the Adi Parva, the Sadhyas indulged in a violent brawl with Garuda who went to take Amrta from Devaloka but got defeated. They dreaded Visvamitra. They took part in Arjuna’s birthday celebrations. When they wanted to witness the wedding of Draupadi, they placed themselves in planes above Draupadi’s palace. When the Khandava forest was being burned, they were present with arrows of different kinds in the battle between Arjuna and Sri Krsna. They worship Brahma, in his court and reside in Indra’s court. The Sadhyas worshipped Lord Shiva on Mount Munjavan. During the yajna performed by King Marutta, they served as store-keepers.
According to the Nilamatapurana, Sadhyas were a group of deities being worshipped in ancient Kashmir at a point of time.
