Hinduism is considered a religion in which polytheism reaches incredible proportions. Despite the huge number of gods, still it is possible to identify the main deities that occupy the so-called supreme pantheon.
The most important Indian gods
There is a certain concept called Trimurti - the triple image, which includes Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The first of them is considered the creator of the world. Represent it with four hands, which symbolize the sides of the world. In the representation of Brahma, details are of great importance. For example, the crown on his head was a sign of the rule of power. The beard of this god pointed to his wisdom and was a symbol of the process of creation. In the hands of Brahma were certain things:
- rosary are the material substances used in creating the world;
- the book of the Vedas is a symbol of knowledge;
- lotus - the nature of living beings.
He was a member of the supreme pantheon of the Indian gods Vishnu, who supports and governs life. His skin is blue, like the sky. This god also has 4 arms in which he holds certain attributes: a lotus, a mace, a shell and a chakra. Hindus believed that Vishnu is endowed with a huge number of qualities, for example, wealth, strength, courage, knowledge, etc. The Indian god Shiva is the personification of destruction and transformation. It was depicted mostly sitting in a lotus pose. They considered this deity to be the defender of righteousness, the victor of demons and the assistant of people. Shiva was subordinated to the other gods of the pantheon.
Important Indian gods and goddesses:
- The goddess of luck and prosperity is Lakshmi . She is the wife of Vishnu. Represented her as a beautiful woman who stands or sits on a lotus, and in some cases she held a flower in her hands. Lakshmi incarnated at every rebirth of her husband.
- The goddess of art and music is Saraswati . She is considered to be the wife of Brahma. Represented her as a young beauty with an Indian lute and a book in her hands. Always accompanied by her swan.
- Parvati is Shiva's wife. In an awesome form, she was worshiped like Kali. Represented her as a witch with a lot of hands in which she held different weapons.
- The Indian god of love is Kama . They portrayed him as a young man with a bow made of sugar cane and live bees, and five arrows of flowers. Interestingly, each arrow caused a certain feeling in a person. Accompanying him were the nymphs who carried his banner with the image of a fish in a red field. He moves to the parrot. There are several legends of the appearance of Kama. There is a myth where it is described by the son of Vishnu and Lakshmi. In another legend, Kama appeared in the heart of Brahma and came out in the image of a girl in whom he fell in love.
- The Indian god of wisdom and well-being is Ganesha . This deity, probably, is most known in our country, because its statues are used in the popular science of feng shui . Ganesha is the patron of artisans, people of creative professions and, of course, businessmen. Hindus believe that it helps those who seek development.
Represent him as a large child with a large belly and with an elephant head. It is important that Ganesha does not have one tusk. The god of wisdom can have a different number of hands: from 2 to 32. In them he could hold completely different objects, for example, a book, a pen, a lotus, a trident, etc. - The Indian fire god is Agni . He was also considered the guardian of immortality. People believed that it helps the souls cleanse after death. They depict Agni with red skin, two faces and seven languages. It was believed that they are needed in order to lick the oil that was sacrificed to him. He moves on a sheep. Agni is considered a secretive deity. Before people, it appears in three forms: the heavenly sun, lightning and fire in the sky.