Namaste Mana ji,

Thank you for your intuitive nudge to the thread discussion.
Advaita and K.Shaivism should, imho, only come into picture when we would be into Sanskrit verbs. Before that, let us explore into Sanskrit nouns.

Eight Vasu-s, Eleven Rudra-s, Twelve Aditya-s, and so on.. indeed, we are in the right place!
One thing, that is always overlooked is, suppose a Devata X is a Vasu. Does that exclude the possibility of Sri X being a Rudra as well? Or an Aditya as well?

That is a point to ponder, particularly in the context of the unitary field of awareness lived by the Rsis.

"Context" - the word is interesting. Is Sanskrit only approachable via a strictly Vedic route? Or, can Sanskrit be equally approachable by each sampradAya of Hinduism in their own unique ways?

The consistency of Dharma demands that indeed all sampradaya-s do have gateways to the core of Sanskrit. But, we thought a short while ago that the core of Sanskrit, the innermost layer, belongs to Devata. That is, it was understood that it is the Devata-s who hold the keys to the core of Sanskrit.

So, does that mean: the same Vedic Devata-s are worshipped under different names in the various sampradaya-s?

The answer is yes and no. Because each sampradaya is a different "context". And by this "context" I don't mean a passive word here: the context itself is a deity, is real. For example, in Vaishnavism, the "context" is Lord Vishnu.

In this way, the "context" becomes important. Even in the Vedic knowledge itself; therefore, what we know as Vasu-s, Rudrá-s, Aditya-s or Maruta-s are mostly the "same Devata-s" under "different contexts". And, as discussed before, they also aren't the "same Devata-s" at all.

Let us, therefore, start with the "smallest context", and that would be, the "Eight Vasu". And we know Sanskrit noun cases are also eight in number.