Hindu Deities

(i)

Hindu

Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deity within the diverse traditions of Hinduism

Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Bhagavān and Bhagavati.[1][2][note 1] The deities of Hinduism

Hinduism have evolved from the Vedic era (2nd millennium BCE) through the medieval era (1st millennium CE), regionally within Nepal, India

India and in southeast Asia, and across Hinduism's diverse traditions.[3][4] The Hindu

Hindu deity concept varies from a personal god as in Yoga

Yoga school of Hindu

Hindu philosophy,[5][6] to 33 Vedic deities,[7] to hundreds of Puranics of Hinduism.[8] Illustrations of major deities include Vishnu, Sri (Lakshmi), Shiva, Sati, Brahma

Brahma and Saraswati. These deities have distinct and complex personalities, yet are often viewed as aspects of the same Ultimate Reality called Brahman.[9][note 2] From ancient times, the idea of equivalence has been cherished for all Hindus, in its texts and in early 1st millennium sculpture with concepts such as [10] Ardhanārīshvara (half Shiva, half Parvati),[11] with myths and temples that feature them together, declaring they are the same.[12][13][14] Major deities have inspired their own Hindu traditions, such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism

Shaivism and Shaktism, but with shared mythology, ritual grammar, theosophy, axiology and polycentrism.[15][16][17] Some Hindu

Hindu traditions such as Smartism

Smartism from mid 1st millennium CE, have included multiple major deities as henotheistic manifestations of Saguna Brahman, and as a means to realizing Nirguna Brahman.[18][19][20] Hindu

Hindu deities are represented with various icons and anicons, in paintings and sculptures, called Murtis and Pratimas.[21][22][23] Some Hindu

Hindu traditions, such as ancient Charvakas rejected all deities and concept of god or goddess,[24][25][26] while 19th-century British colonial era movements such as the Arya Samaj

Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj rejected deities and adopted monotheistic concepts similar to Abrahamic religions.[27][28] Hindu

Hindu deities have been adopted in other religions such as Jainism,[29] and in regions outside India

India such as predominantly Buddhist Thailand

Thailand and Japan

Japan where they continue to be revered in regional temples or arts.[30][31][32] In ancient and medieval era texts of Hinduism, the human body is described as a temple,[33][34] and deities are described to be parts residing within it,[35][36] while the Brahman

Brahman (Absolute Reality, God)[18][37] is described to be the same, or of similar nature, as the Atman (self, soul), which Hindus believe is eternal and within every living being.[38][39][40] Deities in Hinduism

Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions, and a Hindu

Hindu can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist.[41][42][43]

Contents

1 Devas and devis

1.1 Characteristics of Vedic era deities 1.2 Characteristics of medieval era deities 1.3 Symbolism

2 Ishvara 3 Number of deities

3.1 Millions, one or one-ness

4 Iconography and practices

4.1 Temple and worship

5 Examples

5.1 Trimurti
Trimurti and Tridevi 5.2 Avatars of Hindu
Hindu deities 5.3 Major regional and pan-Indian Hindu
Hindu deities

6 See also 7 Notes 8 References

8.1 Sources

9 Further reading 10 External links

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v t e

Main articles: Deva (Hinduism)
Deva (Hinduism) and Devi Deities in Hinduism
Hinduism are referred to as Deva (masculine) and Devi (feminine).[44][45][46] The root of these terms mean "heavenly, divine, anything of excellence".[47] According to Douglas Harper, the etymological roots of Deva mean "a shining one," from *div- "to shine," and it is a cognate with Greek dios "divine" and Zeus, and Latin deus (Old Latin deivos).[48] In the earliest Vedic literature, all supernatural beings are called Asuras.[49][50] By the late Vedic period (~500 BCE), benevolent supernatural beings are referred to as Deva-Asuras. In post-Vedic texts, such as the Puranas
Puranas and the Itihasas
Itihasas of Hinduism, the Devas represent the good, and the Asuras the bad.[3][4] In some medieval Indian literature, Devas are also referred to as Suras and contrasted with their equally powerful, but malevolent half-brothers referred to as the Asuras.[51] Hindu
Hindu deities are part of Indian mythology, both Devas and Devis feature in one of many cosmological theories in Hinduism.[52][53] Characteristics of Vedic era deities[edit] In Vedic literature, Devas and Devis represent the forces of nature and some represent moral values (such as the Adityas, Varuna, and Mitra), each symbolizing the epitome of a specialized knowledge, creative energy, exalted and magical powers (Siddhis).[54][55]

Vedic era deities evolved over time. Rudra
Rudra (left) is represented in Vedic literature, is shown as Shiva- Rudra
Rudra 2nd-century sculpture (middle), and as Shiva
Shiva (meaning kind) in 13th-century art work (right). The iconography evolved, retaining some symbolic elements such as trident, axe or antelope.[56][57]

The most referred to Devas in the Rig Veda
Rig Veda are Indra, Agni
Agni (fire) and Soma, with "fire deity" called the friend of all humanity, it and Soma being the two celebrated in a yajna fire ritual that marks major Hindu ceremonies. Savitr, Vishnu, Rudra
Rudra (later given the exclusive epithet of Shiva), and Prajapati
Prajapati (later Brahma) are gods and hence Devas.[30] The Vedas
Vedas describes a number of significant Devis such as Ushas(dawn), Saranyu(Dusk), Prithvi/Bhudevi(earth), Gayatri(Adi shakti), Aditi (cosmic moral order), Saraswati(river, knowledge), Lakshmi(wealth), Nirṛti/Dhumavati(destruction), Ratri(night), Chhaya(shadow), Aranyani(forest), and bounty goddesses such as Dinsana, Raka, Puramdhi, Parendi, Bharati, Mahi among others are mentioned in the Rigveda.[58] Sri, also called Lakshmi, appears in late Vedic texts dated to be pre-Buddhist, but verses dedicated to her do not suggest that her characteristics were fully developed in the Vedic era.[59] All gods and goddesses are distinguished in the Vedic times, but in the post-Vedic texts (~500 BCE to 200 CE), and particularly in the early medieval era literature, they are ultimately seen as aspects or manifestations of one Brahman, the Supreme power.[59][60] Ananda Coomaraswamy states that Devas and Asuras in the Vedic lore are similar to Angels-Theoi-Gods and Titans of Greek mythology, both are powerful but have different orientations and inclinations, the Devas representing the powers of Light and the Asuras representing the powers of Darkness in Hindu
Hindu mythology.[61][62] According to Coomaraswamy's interpretation of Devas and Asuras, both these natures exist in each human being, the tyrant and the angel is within each being, the best and the worst within each person struggles before choices and one's own nature, and the Hindu
Hindu formulation of Devas and Asuras is an eternal dance between these within each person.[63][64]

The Devas and Asuras, Angels and Titans, powers of Light and powers of Darkness in Rigveda, although distinct and opposite in operation, are in essence consubstantial, their distinction being a matter not of essence but of orientation, revolution or transformation. In this case, the Titan is potentially an Angel, the Angel still by nature a Titan; the Darkness in actu is Light, the Light in potentia Darkness; whence the designations Asura
Asura and Deva may be applied to one and the same Person according to the mode of operation, as in Rigveda
Rigveda 1.163.3, "Trita art thou (Agni) by interior operation". — Ananda Coomaraswamy, Journal of the American Oriental Society[65]

Characteristics of medieval era deities[edit] In the Puranas
Puranas and the Itihasas
Itihasas with the embedded Bhagavad Gita, the Devas represent the good, and the Asuras the bad.[3][4] According to the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita (16.6-16.7), all beings in the universe have both the divine qualities (daivi sampad) and the demonic qualities (asuri sampad) within each.[4][66] The sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita states that pure god-like saints are rare and pure demon-like evil are rare among human beings, and the bulk of humanity is multi-charactered with a few or many faults.[4] According to Jeaneane Fowler, the Gita states that desires, aversions, greed, needs, emotions in various forms "are facets of ordinary lives", and it is only when they turn to lust, hate, cravings, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness, hypocrisy, violence, cruelty and such negativity- and destruction-inclined that natural human inclinations metamorphose into something demonic (Asura).[4][66]

Indra
Indra is a Vedic era deity, found in south and southeast Asia. Above Indra
Indra is part of the seal of a Thailand
Thailand state.

The Epics and medieval era texts, particularly the Puranas, developed extensive and richly varying mythologies associated with Hindu deities, including their genealogies.[67][68][69] Several of the Purana texts are named after major Hindu
Hindu deities such as Vishnu, Shiva and Devi.[67] Other texts and commentators such as Adi Shankara explain that Hindu
Hindu deities live or rule over the cosmic body as well in the temple of human body.[33][70] They remark that the Sun deity is the eyes, the Vāyu the nose, the Prajapati
Prajapati the sexual organs, the Lokapalas the ears, Chandra
Chandra the mind, Mitra
Mitra the inward breath, Varuna the outward breath, Indra
Indra the arms, Bṛhaspati the speech, Vishnu, whose stride is great, is the feet, and Māyā is the smile.[70] Symbolism[edit] Edelmann states that gods and anti-gods of Hinduism
Hinduism are symbolism for spiritual concepts. For example, god Indra
Indra (a Deva) and the antigod Virocana (an Asura) question a sage for insights into the knowledge of the self.[71] Virocana leaves with the first given answer, believing now he can use the knowledge as a weapon. In contrast, Indra
Indra keeps pressing the sage, churning the ideas, and learning about means to inner happiness and power. Edelmann suggests that the Deva-Asura dichotomies in Hindu
Hindu mythology may be seen as "narrative depictions of tendencies within our selves".[71] Hindu
Hindu deities in Vedic era, states Mahoney, are those artists with "powerfully inward transformative, effective and creative mental powers".[72] In Hindu
Hindu mythology, everyone starts as an Asura, born of the same father. "Asuras who remain Asura" share the character of powerful beings craving for more power, more wealth, ego, anger, unprincipled nature, force and violence.[73][74] The "Asuras who become Devas" in contrast are driven by an inner voice, seek understanding and meaning, prefer moderation, principled behavior, aligned with Ṛta
Ṛta and Dharma, knowledge and harmony.[73][74][75] The god (Deva) and antigod (Asura), states Edelmann, are also symbolically the contradictory forces that motivate each individual and people, and thus Deva- Asura
Asura dichotomy is a spiritual concept rather than mere genealogical category or species of being.[76] In the Bhāgavata Purana, saints and gods are born in families of Asuras, such as Mahabali
Mahabali and Prahlada, conveying the symbolism that motivations, beliefs and actions rather than one's birth and family circumstances define whether one is Deva-like or Asura-like.[76] Ishvara[edit] Main article: Ishvara

Ishvara
Ishvara is, along with Shiva, Vishnu
Vishnu and Brahma, one of the 17 deities commonly found in Indonesian Surya Majapahit
Surya Majapahit Hindu
Hindu arts and records. However, Ishvara
Ishvara represents different concept in various Hindu philosophies.

Another Hindu
Hindu term that is sometimes translated as deity is Ishvara, or alternatively various deities are described, state Sorajjakool et al., as "the personifications of various aspects of one and the same Ishvara".[77] The term Ishvara
Ishvara has a wide range of meanings that depend on the era and the school of Hinduism.[78][79][80] In ancient texts of Indian philosophy, Ishvara
Ishvara means supreme soul, Brahman (Highest Reality), ruler, king or husband depending on the context.[78] In medieval era texts, Ishvara
Ishvara means God, Supreme Being, personal god, or special Self depending on the school of Hinduism.[2][80][81] Among the six systems of Hindu
Hindu philosophy, Samkhya
Samkhya and Mimamsa
Mimamsa do not consider the concept of Ishvara, i.e., a supreme being, relevant. Yoga, Vaisheshika, Vedanta
Vedanta and Nyaya
Nyaya schools of Hinduism
Hinduism discuss Ishvara, but assign different meanings. Early Nyaya
Nyaya school scholars considered the hypothesis of a deity as a creator God with the power to grant blessings, boons and fruits; but these early Nyaya
Nyaya scholars then rejected this hypothesis, and were non-theistic or atheists.[25][82] Later scholars of Nyaya
Nyaya school reconsidered this question and offered counter arguments for what is Ishvara
Ishvara and various arguments to prove the existence of omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent deity (God).[83] Vaisheshika school of Hinduism, as founded by Kanada in 1st millennium BC, neither required nor relied on creator deity.[84][85] Later Vaisheshika school adopted the concept of Ishvara, states Klaus Klostermaier, but as an eternal God who co-exists in the universe with eternal substances and atoms, but He "winds up the clock, and lets it run its course".[84] Ancient Mimamsa
Mimamsa scholars of Hinduism
Hinduism questioned what is Ishvara (deity, God)?[86] They considered deity concept unnecessary for a consistent philosophy and moksha (soteriology).[86][87] In Samkhya
Samkhya school of Hindu
Hindu philosophy, Isvara is neither a creator-God, nor a savior-God.[88] This is called one of the several major atheistic schools of Hinduism
Hinduism by some scholars.[89][90][91] Others, such as Jacobsen, state that Samkhya
Samkhya is more accurately described as non-theistic.[92] Deity is considered an irrelevant concept, neither defined nor denied, in Samkhya
Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.[93] In Yoga
Yoga school of Hinduism, it is any "personal deity" (Ishta Deva or Ishta Devata)[94] or "spiritual inspiration", but not a creator God.[81][89] Whicher explains that while Patanjali's terse verses in the Yogasutras can be interpreted both as theistic or non-theistic, Patanjali's concept of Isvara in Yoga
Yoga philosophy functions as a "transformative catalyst or guide for aiding the yogin on the path to spiritual emancipation".[95] The Advaita Vedanta
Vedanta school of Hinduism
Hinduism asserted that there is no dualistic existence of deity (or deities).[96][97] There is no otherness nor distinction between Jiva and Ishvara.[98][99] God (Ishvara, Brahman) is identical with the Atman (soul) within each human being in Advaita Vedanta
Vedanta school,[100] and there is a monistic Universal Absolute Oneness that connects everyone and everything, states this school of Hinduism.[39][99][101] This school, states Anantanand Rambachan, has "perhaps exerted the most widespread influence".[102] The Dvaita
Dvaita sub-school of Vedanta
Vedanta Hinduism, founded in medieval era, Ishvara
Ishvara is defined as a creator God that is distinct from Jiva (individual souls in living beings).[40] In this school, God creates individual souls, but the individual soul never was and never will become one with God; the best it can do is to experience bliss by getting infinitely close to God.[20] Number of deities[edit]

Yantra
Yantra as aniconic deities

Sri Yantra
Sri Yantra symbolizing the goddess Tripura Sundari

Yantras or mandalas (shown) are 3-D images.[103] In Tantra, a minority tradition in Hinduism,[104] they are considered identical with deity.[105] Similar tantric yantras are found in Jainism
Jainism and Buddhism as well.[106]

Yāska, the earliest known language scholar of India
India (~ 500 BCE), notes Wilkins, mentions that there are three deities (Devas) according to the Vedas, " Agni
Agni (fire), whose place is on the earth; Vayu
Vayu (wind), whose place is the air; and Surya
Surya (sun), whose place is in the sky".[107] This principle of three worlds (or zones), and its multiples is found thereafter in many ancient texts. The Samhitas, which are the oldest layer of text in Vedas
Vedas enumerate 33 devas,[note 3] either 11 each for the three worlds, or as 12 Adityas, 11 Rudras, 8 Vasus and 2 Ashvins
Ashvins in the Brahmanas
Brahmanas layer of Vedic texts.[7][47] The Rigveda
Rigveda states in hymn 1.139.11,

ये देवासो दिव्येकादश स्थ पृथिव्यामध्येकादश स्थ । अप्सुक्षितो महिनैकादश स्थ ते देवासो यज्ञमिमं जुषध्वम् ॥११॥[111]

O ye eleven gods whose home is heaven, O ye eleven who make earth your dwelling, Ye who with might, eleven, live in waters, accept this sacrifice, O gods, with pleasure. – Translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith[112]

Gods who are eleven in heaven; who are eleven on earth; and who are eleven dwelling with glory in mid-air; may ye be pleased with this our sacrifice. – Translated by HH Wilson[113]

— Rigveda
Rigveda 1.139.11

Millions, one or one-ness[edit] Thirty-three divinities are mentioned in other ancient texts, such as the Yajurveda,[114] however, there is no fixed "number of deities" in Hinduism
Hinduism any more than a standard representation of "deity".[115] There is, however, a popular perception stating that there are 33 million(or "33 million") deities in Hinduism.[116] Most, by far, are goddesses, state Foulston and Abbott, suggesting "how important and popular goddesses are" in Hindu
Hindu culture.[115] No one has a list of the 33 category goddesses and gods, but scholars state all deities are typically viewed in Hinduism
Hinduism as "emanations or manifestation of genderless principle called Brahman, representing the many facets of Ultimate Reality".[115][116][117] This concept of Brahman
Brahman is not the same as the monotheistic separate God found in Abrahamic religions, where God is considered, states Brodd, as "creator of the world, above and independent of human existence", while in Hinduism
Hinduism "God, the universe, human beings and all else is essentially one thing" and everything is connected oneness, the same god is in every human being as Atman, the eternal Self.[117][118] Iconography and practices[edit] Main article: Murti

Proper Murti
Murti design is described in ancient and medieval Indian texts. They describe proportions, posture, expressions among other details, often referencing to nature.[119][120][121]

A Hindu
Hindu prayer before cutting a tree for a Murti

Oh Tree! you have been selected for the worship of a deity, Salutations to you! I worship you per rules, kindly accept it. May all who live in this tree, find residence elsewhere, May they forgive us now, we bow to them.

—Brihat Samhita
Samhita 59.10 - 59.11[122][123]

Hinduism
Hinduism has an ancient and extensive iconography tradition, particularly in the form of Murti
Murti (Sanskrit: मूर्ति, IAST: Mūrti), or Vigraha or Pratima.[22] A Murti
Murti is itself not the god in Hinduism, but it is an image of god and represents emotional and religious value.[124] A literal translation of Murti
Murti as idol is incorrect, states Jeaneane Fowler, when idol is understood as superstitious end in itself.[124] Just like the photograph of a person is not the real person, a Murti
Murti is an image in Hinduism
Hinduism but not the real thing, but in both cases the image reminds of something of emotional and real value to the viewer.[124] When a person worships a Murti, it is assumed to be a manifestation of the essence or spirit of the deity, the worshipper's spiritual ideas and needs are meditated through it, yet the idea of ultimate reality or Brahman
Brahman is not confined in it.[124] A Murti
Murti of a Hindu
Hindu deity is typically made by carving stone, wood working, metal casting or through pottery. Medieval era texts describing their proper proportions, positions and gestures include the Puranas, Agamas and Samhitas particularly the Shilpa Shastras.[21] The expressions in a Murti
Murti vary in diverse Hindu
Hindu traditions, ranging from Ugra symbolism to express destruction, fear and violence (Durga, Kali), as well as Saumya symbolism to express joy, knowledge and harmony (Saraswati, Lakshmi). Saumya images are most common in Hindu temples.[125] Other Murti
Murti forms found in Hinduism
Hinduism include the Linga.[126] A Murti
Murti is an embodiment of the divine, the Ultimate Reality or Brahman
Brahman to some Hindus.[21] In religious context, they are found in Hindu
Hindu temples or homes, where they may be treated as a beloved guest and serve as a participant of Puja rituals in Hinduism.[127] A murti is installed by priests, in Hindu
Hindu temples, through the Prana Pratishtha ceremony,[128] whereby state Harold Coward and David Goa, the "divine vital energy of the cosmos is infused into the sculpture" and then the divine is welcomed as one would welcome a friend.[129] In other occasions, it serves as the center of attention in annual festive processions and these are called Utsava
Utsava Murti.[130] Temple and worship[edit] Main articles: Hindu
Hindu temple and Puja (Hinduism)

Along with Murti, Hindus use nature and aniconic symbols for deities. Linga- Yoni
Yoni (left) symbolizes Shiva-Parvati,[131] Tulsi
Tulsi plant in a square base (center) is symbolism for Vishnu,[132] and sunrise (or rivers) are revered as aspects of the spiritual everywhere.[133]

In Hinduism, deities and their icons may be hosted in a Hindu
Hindu temple, within a home or as an amulet. The worship performed by Hindus is known by a number of regional names, such as Puja.[134] This practice in front of a murti may be elaborate in large temples, or be a simple song or mantra muttered in home, or offering made to sunrise or river or symbolic anicon of a deity.[135][136][137] Archaeological evidence of deity worship in Hindu
Hindu temples trace Puja rituals to Gupta Empire era (~4th century CE).[138][139] In Hindu
Hindu temples, various pujas may be performed daily at various times of the day; in other temples, it may be occasional.[140][141] The Puja practice is structured as an act of welcoming, hosting, honoring the deity of one's choice as one's honored guest,[142] and remembering the spiritual and emotional significance the deity represents the devotee.[124][134] Jan Gonda, as well as Diana L. Eck, states that a typical Puja involves one or more of 16 steps (Shodasha Upachara) traceable to ancient times: the deity is invited as a guest, the devotee hosts and takes care of the deity as an honored guest, praise (hymns) with Dhupa
Dhupa or Aarti
Aarti along with food (Naivedhya) is offered to the deity, after an expression of love and respect the host takes leave, and with affection expresses good bye to the deity.[143][144] The worship practice may also involve reflecting on spiritual questions, with image serving as support for such meditation.[145] Deity worship (Bhakti), visiting temples and Puja rites are not mandatory and is optional in Hinduism; it is the choice of a Hindu, it may be a routine daily affair for some Hindus, periodic ritual or infrequent for some.[146][147] Worship practices in Hinduism
Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions, and a Hindu
Hindu can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic, or humanist.[41] Examples[edit] Main articles: List of Hindu
Hindu deities and Rigvedic deities Major deities have inspired a vast genre of literature such as the Puranas
Puranas and Agama texts as well their own Hindu
Hindu traditions, but with shared mythology, ritual grammar, theosophy, axiology and polycentrism.[16][17] Vishnu
Vishnu and his avatars are at the foundation of Vaishnavism, Shiva
Shiva for Shaivism, Devi
Devi for Shaktism, and some Hindu traditions such as Smarta traditions who revere multiple major deities (five) as henotheistic manifestations of Brahman
Brahman (absolute metaphysical Reality).[116][148][149] While there are diverse deities in Hinduism, states Lawrence, "Exclusivism – which maintains that only one's own deity is real" is rare in Hinduism.[116] Julius Lipner, and other scholars, state that pluralism and "polycentrism" – where other deities are recognized and revered by members of different "denominations", has been the Hindu
Hindu ethos and way of life.[16][150] Trimurti
Trimurti and Tridevi[edit] Main articles: Trimurti
Trimurti and Tridevi

A 10th century trinity – Vishnu, Shiva
Shiva and Brahma
Brahma – from Bihar.

The concept of Triad (or Trimurti, Trinity) makes a relatively late appearance in Hindu
Hindu literature, or in the second half of 1st millennium BCE.[151] The idea of triad, playing three roles in the cosmic affairs, is typically associated with Brahma, Vishnu
Vishnu and Shiva (also called Mahesh); however, this is not the only triad in Hindu literature.[152] Other triads include Tridevi, of three goddesses – Lakshmi, Saraswati
Saraswati and Kali
Kali in the text Devi
Devi Mahatmya, in the Shakta tradition, who further assert that Devi
Devi is the Brahman
Brahman (Ultimate Reality) and it is her energy that empowers Brahma, Vishnu
Vishnu and Shiva.[151] The other triads, formulated as deities in ancient Indian literature, include Sun (creator), Air (sustainer) and Fire (destroyer); Prana (creator), Food (sustainer) and Time (destroyer).[151] These triads, states Jan Gonda, are in some mythologies grouped together without forming a Trinity, and in other times represented as equal, a unity and manifestations of one Brahman.[151] In the Puranas, for example, this idea of threefold "hypostatization" is expressed as follows,

They [Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva] exist through each other, and uphold each other; they are parts of one another; they subsist through one another; they are not for a moment separated; they never abandon one another. — Vayu
Vayu Purana, 5.17, Translated by Jan Gonda[151]

The triad appears in Maitrayaniya Upanishad, for the first time in recognized roles known ever since, where they are deployed to present the concept of three Guṇa
Guṇa – the innate nature, tendencies and inner forces found within every being and everything, whose balance transform and keeps changing the individual and the world.[152][153] It is in the medieval Puranic texts, Trimurti
Trimurti concepts appears in various context, from rituals to spiritual concepts.[151] The Bhagavad Gita, in verses 9.18, 10.21-23 and 11.15, asserts that the triad or trinity is manifestation of one Brahman, which Krishna
Krishna affirms himself to be.[154] However, suggests Bailey, the mythology of triad is "not the influence nor the most important one" in Hindu
Hindu traditions, rather the ideologies and spiritual concepts develop on their own foundations.[152] Avatars of Hindu
Hindu deities[edit]

The ten avatars of Vishnu, (Clockwise, from top left) Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Vamana, Krishna, Kalki, Buddha, Parshurama, Rama
Rama and Narasimha, (in centre) Radha
Radha and Krishna. Painting currently in Victoria and Albert Museum.

Main articles: Avatar
Avatar and Dashavatara Hindu
Hindu mythology has nurtured the concept of Avatar, which represents the descent of a deity on earth.[155][156] This concept is commonly translated as "incarnation",[155] and is an "appearance" or "manifestation".[157][158] The concept of Avatar
Avatar is most developed in Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism tradition, and associated with Vishnu, particularly with Rama
Rama and Krishna.[159][160] Vishnu
Vishnu takes numerous avatars in Hindu
Hindu mythology. He becomes female, during the Samudra manthan, in the form of Mohini, to resolve a conflict between the Devas and Asuras. His male avatars include Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki.[160] Various texts, particularly the Bhagavad Gita, discuss the idea of Avatar
Avatar of Vishnu
Vishnu appearing to restore the cosmic balance whenever the power of evil becomes excessive and causes persistent oppression in the world.[156] In Shaktism
Shaktism traditions, the concept appears in its legends as the various manifestations of Devi, the Divine Mother principal in Hinduism.[161] The avatars of Devi
Devi or Parvati
Parvati include Durga
Durga and Kali, who are particularly revered in eastern states of India, as well as Tantra traditions.[162][163][164] Twenty one avatars of Shiva
Shiva are also described in Shaivism
Shaivism texts, but unlike Vaishnava traditions, Shaiva traditions have focussed directly on Shiva
Shiva rather than the Avatar concept.[155] Major regional and pan-Indian Hindu
Hindu deities[edit]

Name Other Names Avatārs or Associated Deities Geography Image Early illustrative art

Vishnu Nārāyana, Venkateshwara, Jagannatha Matsya, Kurma, Varāha, Nṛsimha, Vāmana, Parashurāma, Rāma, Kṛshna, Kalki, Vithoba, Gopāl, Naraenten (那羅延天, Japan) pan-Indian, Nepal, Sri Lanka

2nd-century BCE

Shiva Mahādeva, Pashupati, Tripurantaka, Vishwanatha, Dakshinamurthy, Kālāntaka, Bhairava Achalanatha(Japan)[165][166] pan-Indian, Nepal, Sri Lanka

1st-century BCE[167]

Brahmā Prajāpati Bonten
Bonten (Japan)[168], Phra Phrom
Phra Phrom (Thailand) pan-Indian, Nepal, Sri Lanka

6th-century CE

Ganesha Ganapati, Vināyaka, Lambodara, Gajānana Kangiten
Kangiten (Japan) pan-Indian, Nepal, Sri Lanka

7th-century CE

Hanuman Maruti,Pavanputra, Kesarinandan,Ananjeya

Mahavir (Bhutan),(Sri lanka), (Nepal)

Kārtikeya Skanda, Murugan

pan-India, Sri Lanka

8th-century CE

Pārvati Uma, Devi, Gauri, Durga, Kāli, Annapurna Umahi (烏摩妃, Japan) Dewi Sri (Indonesia)[169] pan-Indian, Nepal, Sri Lanka

5th-century CE

Lakshmi Sri Devi, Gajalakshmi, Kamalāsanā Sita, Rādhā, Kisshōten
Kisshōten (Japan) Nang Kwak
Nang Kwak (Thailand)[170] pan-Indian, Nepal, Sri Lanka

1st-century BCE

Saraswati Vāgishvari, Vīnāpāni Benzaiten
Benzaiten (Japan), Biàncáitiān (China), Thurathadi (Myanmar), Suratsawadi (Thailand)[171] pan-Indian, Nepal, Java, Bali, Sri Lanka

10th-century CE

Durgā Pārvati, Kāli, Mahishāsuramardini Betari Durga
Durga (Indonesia)[172] pan-Indian, Nepal, Sri Lanka

8th-century CE

Kāli Durga, Parvati

pan-Indian, Nepal, Sri Lanka

12th-century CE

Mariamman Durga, Parvati

South India, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka

Ardhanārīshvara (Half Shiva
Shiva - Half Parvati)

pan-Indian, Nepal, Sri Lanka

1st-century CE

See also[edit]

Hindu
Hindu denominations Hindu
Hindu iconography Hindu
Hindu mythology Puranas List of Hindu
Hindu deities Rigvedic deities

Notes[edit]

^ For translation of deva in singular noun form as "a deity, god", and in plural form as "the gods" or "the heavenly or shining ones", see: Monier-Williams 2001, p. 492 and Renou 1964, p. 55 ^ [a] Hark, Lisa; DeLisser, Horace (2011). Achieving Cultural Competency. John Wiley & Sons. Three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and other deities are considered manifestations of and are worshipped as incarnations of Brahman. [b] Toropov & Buckles 2011: The members of various Hindu
Hindu sects worship a dizzying number of specific deities and follow innumerable rites in honor of specific gods. Because this is Hinduism, however, its practitioners see the profusion of forms and practices as expressions of the same unchanging reality. The panoply of deities are understood by believers as symbols for a single transcendent reality. [d] Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff (2007). An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies. Liturgical Press. While Hindus believe in many devas, many are monotheistic to the extent that they will recognise only one Supreme Being, a God or Goddess who is the source and ruler of the devas. ^ The list of Vedic Devas somewhat varies across the manuscripts found in different parts of South Asia, particularly in terms of guides (Aswins) and personified Devas. One list based on Book 2 of Aitereya Brahmana
Brahmana is:[108][109]

Devas personified: Indra
Indra (Śakra), Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Aṃśa, Vidhatr (Brahma),[110] Tvāṣṭṛ, Pūṣan, Vivasvat, Savitṛ (Dhatr), Vishnu. Devas as abstractions or inner principles: Ānanda (bliss, inner contentment), Vijñāna (knowledge), Manas (mind, thought), Prāṇa (life-force), Vāc (speech), Ātmā (soul, self within each person), and five manifestations of Rudra/ Shiva
Shiva – Īśāna, Tatpuruṣa, Aghora, Vāmadeva, Sadyojāta Devas as forces or principles of nature – Pṛthivī (earth), Agni (fire), Antarikṣa (atmosphere, space), Jal (water), Vāyu (wind), Dyauṣ (sky), Sūrya (sun), Nakṣatra (stars), Soma (moon) Devas as guide or creative energy – Vasatkara, Prajāpati

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