The words ‘deva’ and ‘asura’ refer to divinities in the Veda, and are roughly translated as gods and demons, but Krishna uses them differently. A deva is one who accepts the reality of atma; an asura does not. Thus, Krishna sees devas and asuras not in supernatural terms or as inherently good or evil, but as people who value the dehi and those who don’t, respectively. The asuras are trapped by the literal and the measurable, while the devas appreciate the metaphorical and the non-measurable. Those who do not look beyond the body and material reality, says Krishna, have no hope of freedom,
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