Hindu gods & goddesses

Brahma: the core of all creation

In the Hindu faith, the cosmos is not so much a creation, but more an emanation from Brahma (the creator God). All humans, animals, gods, and even objects are one divine being. The soul of each person is thus in Brahma; the entirety of creation. The multiplicity that hides the unity of the cosmos is called Maya: the reality humans perceive with their senses every day. The overcoming of Maya to perceive true reality (Brahma) thus constitutes an important task in Hinduism; the task of becoming one with God.

Though believed by many to be a polytheistic religion, the basis of Hinduism is the belief in the unity of everything. This totality is called Brahma, the Absolute, the Supreme Being, the Ultimate Reality or the Divine. The purpose of life is to realize that we are part of God and by doing so we can leave this plane of existance and re-join with God. For Hindu pantheism, the world is part of God. For most Hindus this God is not a person but a force, an energy, and a principle.

Hindus are encouraged to form a special relationship with a few gods and goddesses they best identify with or most admire the attributes of.

330 million gods and goddesses

The different gods and goddesses of Hinduism represent various functions or aspects or attributes of this One Supreme Divinity, they are not separate gods and they are valid to worship, according to Hinduism. For example, the goddesses are really the female aspects of God, because the Divine contains both masculine and feminine attributes. Some gods are represented with several heads or 8 arms to represent the omni-potency and omni-presence of God. It is often stated that some Hindu teachers claim 330 million gods and goddesses!

The 33 “gods of the Vedas,” the Devatas

Although the Vedas comprise the most sacred literature of Hinduism, the divine pantheon in them are essentially ignored in daily life by Hindus. One important god is Agni, who is both the god of fire and the sacred fire itself. He continues to be worshipped in the daily rituals of each Hindu home. Every morning, an offering of clarified butter (ghee) and some grain cakes is shared communion-style between Agni and the members of the household.

Prajapati is the father of the gods and of the devils (Asuras). Indra, the warrior god, with his band of Maruts, defeats the demons of darkness each morning so that the sun can rise. There is also the sky god Dyaus and a few goddesses, such as Aditi and Ushas.

The post-Vedas gods

The theology of the Puranas mainly centers around the Trinity: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, as well as the incarnations of Vishnu and the Saktis of the Trinity: Lakshmi, Sarasvati and Durga, and the two sons of Shiva.

1. Brahma, the creator God

Lord Brahma, the creator God of the Trinity appears seated on a lotus (a symbol of glorious existence). He has four heads and hands: symbols of his omni-presence and omni-potency. Each hand is holding a sacrificial tool (sruva), the Vedas (knowledge), a water pot (kamandalu) and a rosary respectively. His vehicle is a swan (hans) which is known for its judgment between good and bad. Lord Brahma's consort is Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning.

2. Vishnu

Vishnu is the savior and protector of mankind, he is believed to have been incarnated on Earth 9 times. The last incarnation, as “Kalkin,” is still to come. His early incarnations (“avatars”) were as a fish, tortoise and a boar. The last 3 were Rama, Krishna, and Buddha.

(a) Krishna

Krishna is the central hero of the 18th chapter of the epic novel Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita. The 2 wives of Vishnu are Lakshmi, goddess of fortune, and Prithvi, the Earth Goddess.

There are three main stages in Krishna's worldly life.

• Krishna is born in a prison where his royal parents are being held by a rival king. His father works out a scheme to enable the baby Krishna to escape to a nearby village by replacing him with another child. Krishna grows up as a mischievous boy within this village of cowherds, playing tricks on his family and friends.
• As a youth, Krishna woos all the gopis (female cowherds) in the village with his good looks, charms and attention. Radha is his favorite gopis.
• As an adult, Krishna regains his kingdom in northern India by killing King Kamsa, an act seen as the restoration of dharma. In the story of the Mahabharata, he then helps Arjuna (by serving as his chariot driver, and his brothers (the Pandava brothers) in a war to regain their rightful kingdom. On the night before a major battle, Krishna and Arjuna have a long discussion about the nature of dharma and the cosmos, which is preserved within the Mahabharata as the Bhagavad Gita. At the end of the discussion, Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna as Vishnu. The exploits of Krishna are told and rehearsed in the Vishnu temples and in the annual festival of the Ras Lila.

(b) Rama

The other major avatar of Vishnu is Rama, the central figure of another novel, the epic Ramayana. Lord Rama is one of the most commonly adored gods of Hindus. Rama bears the attributes of trust, faithfulness, and strength. Along with Sita, his faithful wife, Rama continues to be worshipped in temples and in the annual festival of the Ram Lila. Also significant is Hanuman, the monkey-god, is the guardian spirit of the villages, who saved Sita, the wife of Rama in the Ramayana epic.

(c) Buddha

Gautama, the Buddha, rejected the authority of the Vedas, condemned ritualistic practices (especially animal sacrifice), and denied the existence of gods. Ironically Buddha was absorbed into Hinduism’s pantheon of gods as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu! Buddha did believe in two cardinal principles of Hinduism, viz — the transmigration of the soul, and the law of karma — the negative or positive consequences of our actions.

3. Shiva, the creator/destroyer god

Shiva is the destroyer of evil, the creator of new life and the sustainer of life. The main symbol of Shiva is a lingam, the male organ, because of his re-creating fertility. This symbol is placed as the central image in a Shaivite temple and is often made from a valuable material, such as silver. It is usually two to three feet tall, and constitutes a focus of worship for his followers.

(a) The wives of Shiva

Shiva’s “wives” are the symbols of feminine powers of God, called Shakti. Although there are numerous female figures associated with Shiva, five stand out: Parvati, Umma, Durga, Kali, and Shakti.

• Parvati, the wife of Shiva, is the goddess of love and romance. She is young, beautiful and full of life. As such, she represents union with Shiva; a representation that has distinct sexual overtones. They are often depicted in the act of intercourse with the combination of their male and female (sakti) energies sustaining the universe.
• Umma is the wife who represents motherhood. She is seen as kind, caring, nurturing.
• Durga represents the attribute of justice. She rides a tiger and carries the weapons of battle. In this character, she is unafraid to kill to re-establish justice.
• Kali is wild, terrible, and unpredictable, and is usually associated with death. She is usually depicted naked, wearing a necklace of human heads and a skirt of human arms. Blood drips from her sword. She is sometimes depicted dancing upon the prone form of Shiva, symbolizing the strength of wild and unpredictable power.
• Shakti, the Grand-mother, is the goddess of the Tantric sect that worships erotic sexuality.

(b) The sons of Shiva

Shiva also has two sons. The first, Lord Ganesha has the head of an elephant and is the god of overcoming obstacles, which links him to good luck and prosperity. The second, Skanda, becomes the divine warrior and thus the god of war.

Hindu goddesses

Each God in the trinity has his consort. To Brahma is Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge. To Vishnu is Lakshmi, the Goddess of love, beauty and delight. To Shiva is Kali (Parvati), the Goddess of power, destruction and transformation.

Animals: Vehicles of the gods

Hindus see divinity or Brahma in all living creatures. Animal deities therefore, occupy an important place in Hindu dharma. In addition, each deity is associated with a ‘vehicle,’ a bird or animal on which it travels. The vehicles are used in Indian religious art to reflect and at times to extend the powers or qualities of the deity with which it is associated. Animals often serve as better symbols of basic virtues than images of a human beings. The vehicle also represents the relationship between all living things.

The gods of the Planets, the Navagraha

There are nine deities also referred to as Nava (Nine) Grahas (Planets). These grahas are believed to have a significant impact on the live of an individual. The Hindu study of these planets is called Vedic Astrology. Classical Vedic Astrology uses the seven visible planets; the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, along with the two lunar nodes, the north and south nodes, Rahu and Ketu.

Lesser gods

The lesser gods are personification of nature: river and ocean gods, love and wealth gods, hosts of celestial beings etc.

This article is licensed under the Free Documentation License. It uses material from the World Religions and 101 Cults article “The many gods and goddesses of Hinduism.”