The Gods and Goddesses Aditi Description: Mother of the gods.

Rules Over: Sky, earth, past and the future. Agni Other Names: Pramati. Description: Has seven tongues which he uses to consume sacrifices. Fire God. Pictured as a man with three flaming heads, three legs and seven arms, clothed in black with smoke forming his standard and headdres. Rules Over: Rain, weather, storms, protector of the home, wealth, power, new beginnings, light, rebirth, immortality, justice, forgiveness, love, virility, mediation between the gods and men. Aryaman Description: God of the Heavens. Rules Over: Sun, Moon, winds, waters, seasons. Asvins Other Names: Aswins, Nasatyas. Description: Twin gods of the morning. They rode in a gold car drawn by horses or birds. The physicians of the Gods. Their Names: Dasra and Nasatya. Rules Over: Morning and evening stars, healing, old age, protection of love and marriage. Brahma Other Names: Prajapati (A form of him, at least). Description: Part of the triad with Vishnu and Shiva. Father of the gods, men and the world. Guardian of the world. Shown riding a swan and has red skin, four heads and wore white robes. In his four arms he carries his scepter (or a spoon/string of beads), the Vedas, a bow and a water jug. Rules OveR: Magick, wisdom, knowledge. Brihaspati Other Names: Bramanaspati. Description: Master of magickal power and the priesthood. Rules Over: Magick, priesthood, created things. The Buddha Description: Divine Teacher. Avatar/Incarnation of Vishnu. Rules Over: Spiritual illumination, wisdom, self-realization. Chandra Other Names: Soma. Description: Moon god whose name came from the intoxicating, hallucinogenic drink made for the gods. Rules Over: Psychic visions and dreams, rising on the inner planes, pleasant forgetfulness. Devi Other Names: Mahadevi, "Shakti". Description: Shiva's Consort. Most powerful of the Goddesses. Durga Other Names: Jaganmatri (aspect of them, at least). Description: One of the triad with the Goddesses Uma and Parvati.

In her aspect of Durga Pratyangira, she is a yellow woman with ten arms who carries a trident, sword, drum and bowl of blood. Mother Goddess. Rules Over: Death, destruction, futility, ruin, comfort, help, power, nurturing, protection, defense. Gandharvas Description: Gods of the air, rain clouds and rain. Adept horsemen and musicians. Rules Over: Truths, medicines, musical skills, air, cloud and rain. Ganesha Other Names: Ganesa, Ganapati, Gajani. Description: Elephant-headed god of scribes and merchants. Invoked before any undertaking to ensure success. Rules Over: Wisdom, good luck, literature, books, writing, worldly success, prosperity, peace, beginnings, successful enterprises, journeys, building, overcoming obstacles, taming dangerous forces, combination of force and cunning. Ganga Description: Goddess of the river Ganges. Rules Over: Purification. Gauri Descriptoin: Benign aspect of the Great Goddess. Rules Over: Wealth, good fortune. Indra Other Names: Parjanya, Svargapati, Meghavahana, Vajri, Sashra. Description: King of the Gods, Guardian of the Eastern quarter. Pictured as fair with golden skin riding an horse, elephant (Airavata) or in a chariot drawn by two tawy horses. Rules Over: War, weather, fertility, lightning, sky, warriors, violence, weather, fertility, lightning, sky, warriors, violence, reincarnation, rain, strength, bravery, horses, elephants, love, sensual desire, rainbow, personal intervention, law, magick power, rivers, time, seasons, storms, opposition to evil, creativity, the sun, hunting dogs, offerings. Jyeshtha Description: Goddess of bad luck. Rules Over: Revenge, dark magick. Kali Other Names: Kali Ma. Description: "The black mother" who has a dual personality exhibiting traits of both gentleness and love, revenge and terrible death. Wife of Shiva. As the female Holy Trinity she is called Prakriti (Nature). Pictured with black skin, hideous face smeared with blood, fur arms and bare breasts. She despises most males. Rules Over: Regeneration, revenge, fear, dark magick, sexual activities, protection of women. Kami Other Names: Dipaka, Gritsa, Mayi, Mara, Ragavrinta, Titha. Description: God of desire. Ever-yojng man riding a parrot and is accompanied by his wives Rati, Vasanta, and the Apsaras.

Rules Over: Physical love, pleasures, sensual desire, spring, women, flowers. Karttikeya Other Names: Skanda, Subramanya. Description: Chief war god with six heads and twelve arms. Defender of the gods. Women cannot enter his temples. Rules Over: Revenge, dark magick, war. Krishna Other Names: Vishnu (Incarnation of him). Description: Most famous avatar of Vishnu. Had 180 wives. His birth was announced by a star and angelic voices. It is said that Krishna returns at the end of each age to save the righteous, destroy sin, and establish goodness and holiness. Rules Over: Erotic delights, sexual pleasures, love, music, savior from sins. Kubera Other Names: Kuvera, Khanapati, Dhanapati, Jambhalla. Description: Dwarf god of Earth and treasures of the earth enthroned in the Himalayas. Fat, white, bejeweled, hideous dwarf with three legs and only eight teeth. Rules Over: Fertility, wealth, treasure, minerals, gold, silver, jewels, pearls, precious stones. Lakshmi Other Names: Rukmini. Description: Goddess of love and beauty. She gave Indra the drink of soma (wise blood) from her own body so he could produce the illusion of birth-giving and become king of the devas. Rules Over: Good fortune, prosperity, success, love, feminine beauty. Manjusri Description: Patron of grammatical science. Rules Over: Enlightenment, wisdom, civilization, books and writing. Mara Description: Master magician. Rules Over: Illusion, dark magick. Parvati Other Names: Mena, Haimavati. Description: God of the Himalayas, Virgin Mother Goddess. Represents union of god and goddess, man and woman. Rules Over: Desire, ecstacy. Puchan Other Names: Pushan. Description: Lead souls to the afterworld. Considered a good guide, leading his followers to wealth. Rules Over: Marriage, journeys, roads, cattle, meetings, prosperity, material gain. Rama Other Names: Ramachandra. Description: Princely incarnation of Vishnu. Hero God.

Rati Other Names: Mayavati. Description: Goddess of sexual passions. Wife of Rama. Rules Over: Lust, sexual activities. The Ribhus Description: Artisan elves who are the sons of Indra by Saranyu. Gods of crafts, horses and the Sun. Rules Over: Herbs, crops, streams, creativity, blessings. Rudra Other Names: Pasupati, Tryambaka. Description: Lord of beasts, ancient Vedic god of the dead and prince of demons. Ruddy or swarthy man with a wild temper. Rules Over: Healing, herbs, death, disease, the jungle, wild animals, the woodlands, cattle, intelligence, song, sacrifice, creation, prosperity, thieves, storms, wind, judgment. Sarasvati Description: Inventor of Sanskrit and discoverer of soma in the Himalayas. Graceful woman with white skin, wearing a crescent Moon on her brow and seated on a lotus flower. Rules Over: Arts, science, music, poetry, learning, teaching. Savitri Description: Rising and descending aspects of the Sun. Goldenhaired goddess who rides in a car drawn by two brilliant horses. Rules Over: Night, rest, healing, long life, immortality, dispels tribulation. Shiva Other Names: Siva, Mahakala, Lingodbhava, Rudra, Pashupa, Bhutapati, Tryambaka, Digambara, Nataraja, Natesa, Shiva Ardhanari. Description: Member of the Hindu triad with Brahma and Vishnu. Merciful fertility god who is also an ascetic who practices yoga. Always represents great power. Rules Over: Fertility, physical love, destruction, strength, medicine, storms, warriors, long life, healing, magick, weapons, cattle, rivers, fire, death, dance, rhythm, meditation, war, righteousness, judgment. Siva Jnana-Dakshinamurti Description: God of all wisdom. Rules Over: Wisdom, meditation. Siva Lingodbhava Description: God of reproduction and fertility. Rules Over: Fertility, procreation. Surya Description: Chief Sun God. Some stories say he is the original source of soma which he gave to the moon to be distributed to the gods. Dark red man with three eyes and four arms who rides a chariot pulled by seven mares, each one representing a day of the week. Rules Over: Measures, understanding, waters, winds, complete dominion, blessings, spiritual enlightenment.

Tara Description: Mother Goddess who helped to control human sexuality in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Rules Over: Knowledge, compassion, punishment, threats, control, enlightenment. Tvashtar Other Names: Tvashtri. Description: Creator of all things and craftsman of the gods. Created magickal weapons for the gods. Rules Over: Arts and crafts, skill with the hands, creativity, source of all blessings, granter of prosperity. Uma Other Names: Uma Haimavati. Description: Corn Goddess who is part of the trinity of the Great Goddess. Mediates conflicts between Brahma and the other gods. Rules Over: Light, beauty, fertility, harvest, crops, the Earth, the dark seasons, yogic asceticism. Vajrapani Description: God of lightning. Similar to Pan. Rules Over: Woodlands, physical love, ecstasy. Varuna Description: God of the Sun. Judge of man's deeds. Created the heavens , earth and the air between them. Rules Over: Rain, wind, rivers, the Sun, truth, justice, punishment, heavenly gifts, law, magick power, snakes, demons, white horses, oceans, the creative will, seasons, death, rewards, prophecy. Vishnu Description: With three steps he measured the seven worlds. Intermediary between the gods and man. Sun God. To help man, Vishnu appears on Earth as a human avatar. Nine avatars are said to have already come, with a tenth yet to appear. Rules Over: Peace, power, strength, compassion, love, abundance, success, victory. Visvakarma Description: God of smiths and craftsmen. Creator and maintainer of everything in the universe, making things hold their individual shapes. Rules Over: Animals, horses, creativity, weapons making, architecture, building, smiths, craftsmen. Yama Other Names: Dharmaraja, Samana, Pitripati, Sraddaheva, Dandadhara. Description: Judge of the dead. God of death, truth and righteousness. Judges men's dharma. Rules Over: Judgment, destiny, death, punishment. The main Hindu Gods as we worship and accept today can be broadly classified as Shiva Gods -- Siva including His consort, His sons, His other forms Vaishnava Gods -- Vishnu including His consort, His various

incarnations and Sakthi or Saktha -- Forms of Goddess Sakthi The earliest accepted Gods are

Dyaush-pita -- the sky father Prithivi mata -- the earth mother Vayu -- the wind God Parjanya -- the rain God Surya -- the sun God Varuna -- the God of oceans Agni -- the fire God Indra -- the war God Soma -- the God of speech, deity of soma creeper Ushas -- the Goddess of dawn Yama -- the God of death Adityas -- a group of deities, who are six in number in the Rig Veda, eight in most of the Brahmanas and twelve in the Satapatha Brahmana Aswini -- twin Deities Rudras -- eight in number Vasus -- eight in number Visvedevas -- ten in number Nakshatra -- The Constellations or stars Space -- Antariksha Sky -- Dyaus But these all Gods are classified as under ****************************************************** ******************************** The great and chief Hindu Gods Hindu Trinity Gods-Tridev The names are God Brahma - creator of the entire universe God Vishnu The preserver of the Universe God Shiva The destroyer and has the power of his 3rd eye The great and chief Hindu Goddesses Hindu Trinity Goddesses Tridevi The names are Goddess Saraswati -- The consort of God Brahma, the goddess for knowledge Goddess Laxmi - The Consort of God Vishnu and the goddess of wealth, delight, beauty and love. Goddess Parvati -- The consort of God Shiva and the goddess of transformation, power and destruction. The God and Goddess incarnation Sati Maa -- the form of Goddess Parvati Durga Maa -- the form of Goddess Parvati and the energy of mother Kali Mata -- having the destructive power and harmful energy

The Mahadevi -- the powerful form of Shakti Sita Mata -- the consort of Lord Rama Rukmani -- the consort of Lord Krishna Radha -- the divine devotee and fan of Lord Krishna Ganga Mata -- the holy river Yamuna Maa -- the holy river Gayatri Maa -- the goddess of learning Santoshi Maa -- the goddess Mata Vishnodevi -- the goddess Maa Annpurna -- the goddess of Harvests God Rama -- the seventh incarnation of God Vishnu God Krishna -- the eighth incarnation of God Vishnu God Bhirav -- the strong and powerful incarnation of God Shiva The Most 10 Incarnation of God Vishnu Matsya Avatar -- Vishnu as a fish Kurma Avatar -- Vishnu as a tortoise Varaha Avatar -- Vishnu as a boar Narasimha Avatar - Vishnu the half lion-half man) Vamana Avatar - Vishnu as in form of the dwarf Parasurama Avatar - Vishnu as brahamans son - Rama with an axe Rama Avatar - Vishnu as the prince of Ayodhya Krishna Avatar -- Vishnu as in black tribal Buddha Avatar - Vishnu as form of the completely enlightened one Kalki Avatar - Vishnu -- the incarnation to come in future Sons and Relatives Ganesh -- son of God Shiva and Goddess Parvati Kartikeya -- Subramaynan, Shanmuga -- son of Shiva and Parvati Krishna -- son of Vasudeva and younger brother of Balarama Balarama Elder brother of Lord Krishna Hanuman -- son of Vayu Vasudeva -- The father of Lord Krishna

Narada- the wandering seer who features in almost all the Puranas Rudra the god of storms Sanjna - the god of conscience and the wife of SURYA (sun) Soma- the moon god Varuna- the god of oceans Vishwakarma- the divine architect of the universe Yama- the god of death Celestial beings Apsaras- beautiful ladies, who dance in the court of Indra and names RAMBHA, URVASI and MENAKA Gandharvas- celestial musicians who play in the court of Indra Kinnaras- mythical beings, with a body of a man and head of a horse Siddhas- classes of spirits of great purity and holiness Yaksha- the guardians of wealth and attendants of Kubera In Hindu mythology, Animals have also a special place. Main Animal Deities SHESHNAG or ANANTA -- the infinite - the king of Nagas, vehicle of Vishnu or the bed on which Vishnu rests KAMADHENU --- the cow of plenty GARUDA -- the king of birds - half man and half eagle or vulture, vehicle of Vishnu AIRAVATA -- the elephant - vehicle of Indra The other various Animal Deities in Hindu Mythology AKUPARA-the tortoise - on which Earth or Prithvi rests ANTELOPE--- vehicle of Vayu and Chandra ARVA --- mythical being half horse and half bird - one of the horses of the moon BUFFALO --- vehicle of Yama CERBURA --- the three headed infernal dog of the Krishna legend CROW --- vehicle of Shani DOG and HORSE --- vehicle of Shiva as Bhairava JAMBAVANT --- the king of bears - ally of Rama MAKARA or JALAMPA --- the mythical sea monster - vehicle of Varuna (god of water) MOUSE --- vehicle of Ganesha NANDI --- the bull - vehicle of Shiva and Parvati PARAVANI --- the peacock - vehicle of Kartikeya PARROT --- vehicle of Kamadeva RAM --- the he-goat - vehicle of Agni SARAMA --- dog of Indra SWAN --- vehicle of Saraswati and Brahma TARKSHYA --- winged horse personifying the sun TIGER and LION --- vehicle of Parvati as Kali and Durga UCHCHAIH-SRAVAS --- the eight headed king of horses produced during the churning of oceans

The Hindu Cosmic Trinity or Vedic Gods Surya The god of energy or life Agni The god of fire Vayu The god of air The other Hindu Vedic or Lesser Gods ARJUNA (the dew) : God of the dawn and the charioteer of the sun (son of Vinata and the wise Kasyapa. Ganga- personification of the holy river Gayatri- personification of the Vedic hymn Hanuman- the monkey god - devotee of Rama Indra- King of the abode of gods Kamdeva- god of love Kubera- god of wealth Manu the Hindu Noah