(Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva)

Brahma is the god of creation and he is

traditionally accepted in Hinduism as the Creator
of the entire universe. To indicate that the
manifested world of plurality has emerged from
the unmanifest Reality, Brahma the creator is described as being born from the navel of Vishnu.

Lord Vishnu, major god of Hinduism and Indian mythology, popularly regarded as the preserver of the universe. The
concept of Lord Vishnu is based chiefly on two beliefs: humans may attain salvation by faithfully following predetermined
paths of duty, and good and evil powers (gods and demons) contend for dominion over the world.

Shiva is one of the gods of the Trinity. He is said to be the god of destruction. Shiva is also known as “Gangadhar”
(meaning the carrier of the River Ganges). Shiva is said to carry the Ganges in his locks. Shiva is sometimes shown with his
trident (trishool) in his hand. Shiva with this weapon indicates his victory over his ego and attainment of the state of
perfection.

The three gods represent the three fundamental powers of nature which are manifest in the world: creation,
destruction and maintenance. These powers exist perpetually. All three powers are manifest at all times. They are
inseparable.

It looks presumptuous, in a few pages, to give a clear idea about what can be the hindu religion.

First of all, let us make several remarks. Some people will think them somewhat ingenious, but other will
feel them useful.

An indian is somebody living in India, whatever his religion is.

A hindu is somebody following the religion called hinduism. It's generally considered that nobody may
become a hindu by conversion. People are born hindu. This comment is not useless, for at least two
reasons :

hindu people do not practice proselytism; that is to say, they don't try to convince
everybody in the world that their religion is the best one, even if they are fully convinced
about that !
it can't be useless to emphasize, for westerners, that it's difficult and rare to be allowed to
convert oneself to hinduism.

Being born as a hindu, in a particular cast, one generally believes in the power of gods and worship them.
But it's a personal affair.

Hinduism is a complex religion. Along the centuries, it has proved its ability to absorb and adapt to the
local context a lot of different beliefs, belonging to various spiritual paths. This results in confusion for
those who have not deeply studied the question.

Only one common exemple : most times, westerners think that hindu are polytheist, because they
obviously worship a lot of gods (sometimes, one tells they are 33 millions !). Yes, OK, but gods are not
what westerners use to name God.
Gods are functions, forms (murtî) of the Divine Power, forms of the Formless Unknowledgeable God. They
are expressions of the Ultimate Reality which is called Brahman in India (neutral gender). Brahman
cannot definitely be described; the sacred texts rather describe what Brahman is not. And for Hindu
people, man has not been created similar to any Brahman's image...

The three main Emanations of Brahman (the Trimûrti ) are the Gods Brahmâ, Vishnu and Shiva
. This concept is not similar at all to the Christian Trinity.

Brahmâ is the Creator of the manifested World; but we would rather say, since there is no real creation
from nothing, that Brahmâ is the Organizer; Vishnu is the Preserver, who maintains and supports the
world; Shiva is the Destructor.

Beware the misundertanding !. The manifested World has not been created once for all : Hindu have a
cyclic conception of the Manifested Reality. The World appears, takes place then disappears, following
cycles; each cycle is called a kalpa .

Moreover, the manifested World has not been created like westerners understand the word creation.
Indeed, the World exists and does not exist. He is only a relative reality, an illusion that we think to be
truth. He is the produce of Mâyâ , the power of Illusion. Therefore he is, in the same time, the cause
and the product of the essential ignorance in which the human being is deeply immersed. At least, this is
the point of view (Darshana ) explained by the Vedanta , but other points of view may also be
acceptable... (I told you it's not easy !).

Hindu people use to worship particularly Shiva or Vishnu. The exclusive Shiva's worshippers belong to a
Shaiva sect, the exclusive Vishnu's worshippers refer to a Vaishnavi sect.

Stop ! In India, the word sect does not include any pejorative idea, on the contrary of what we see in the
western countries, where the word sect is badly considered.

Vaishnavi and Shaiva people can be distinguished, except their exclusive faith, by specific rituals, or
various signs (marks on the face, clothes).

Brahmâ
It's a curious thing that Brahmâ, the Principe of Creation, is so rarely worshipped; there are only a very
few Brahmâ temples in India : the most known is located in Pushkar (Rajasthan).

However, Brahmâ is frequently designed on temple walls. He is four-headed, each head watching at a
cardinal point; sometimes, he wears a short bearb. He holds the sacred book of the Veda , because He
is the Master of the Veda.

At the beginning of each cosmic cycle, Brahmâ rises from the Vishnu navel; then, Vishnu is lying asleep
on the Serpent of Eternity called Ananta .

The Brahmâ vahâna is the goose (hamsa).

His Shakti is Sarasvatî who has several other names : Sâvitrî, Brahmî, Bhâratî, etc. She is four-
headed, holds a book, a mâlâ and plays vînâ .

Vishnu
Vishnu has taken, at different periods, various animal or human forms, in order to play a particular role in
the manifested world. One uses to say these are Avatâra .

Each of the Vishnu incarnations is linked to a particular legend which reports how Vishnu has manifested
Himself under a particular form, in order to re-establish the Dharma on earth. To say simply, the
Dharma is the Divine Law, the Natural Order of things in the cosmos. In other words, the Vishnu comings
in the manifested world are motivated by His function of Preservation, when demons and other negative
forces threaten to make world falling into ruins.
 Matsya (the Fish). This legend is similar to the legend of the Deluge. This incarnation of Vishnu as a
fish gave Him the opportunity to teach Manu , the first man, how to build a boat.

Kûrma (la Tortue). Under this turtle form, Vishnu plunged in the ocean deepness, to get and bring
back to the surface, bearing it on His back, the Mount Mandara . This mount was then used as an axis
by gods and demons to churn the original Ocean of Milk and extract the amrita from it.

Varâha (the Boar). Under this form, Vishnu went to the deepness of the Deluge waters and brought
back the goddess Earth who had been drawn there by the demon Hiranyaksha who wanted to revenge
from gods. Vishnu had to fight during thousand years to win.

Narasimha (the Lion-Man) who vanquished the demon Hiranyakashipu , however invulnerable
thanks to the powers granted to him by Brahmâ. Defied by the demon to appear under a visible form,
Vishnu rose out a pillar under this awful half man half animal aspect and destroyed the demon.

Vâmana (the dwarf who becomes a giant - Trivikrama). The demon-king Bali had extended his
control over the infernal, earthly and celestial worlds. Although a pious man, it was thus necessary to
fight him. Vishnu took the form of a begging dwarf and requested to the king to give Him three feet of
land. The king accepted this request. Then, Vâmana grew hugely and, in only three strides, He crossed
the Three Worlds and vanquished the king.

Parashurâma (Râma with the axe). This legend reports the struggles which opposed the Brâhman
casts to Kshatriya . Parashurâma fighted against the Kshatriya and overcomed them, giving again
the first role to the Brâhmans. This legend reflects most probably historic facts.

Râma ou Râma-Chandra (Similar to the Moon), hero of the Râmâyana , who vanquished the
demon-king Ravana from Lankâ thanks to the aid of the monkey army commanded by Hanuman and
released His wife Sîtâ previously kidnapped by Râvana.

and finally Krishna (the Black Lord), the most worshipped of the Vishnu incarnations. May
adventures are imputed to Him; some are narrated in the Mahâbhârata .

The ninth Avatar for hindu people would be the historic Buddha .

Some state that even Jésus would be a Vishnu incarnation.

One more Avatâr is still remaining to come in the future, at the end of the present cycle. We are now
living the last part of the present cycle, called Iron Age (Kali Yuga). A cycle or yuga lasts 4.32 million
years. The last Vishnu incarnation will be Kalki , riding a white horse, holding a sword which will strike
the wicked persons in order to reestablish the purity among men.

Râma and Krishna are the most known Vishnu Avatâra. A lot of legends report their exploits, which
people thinks have occured during historic periods, although very ancient. Many of these legends may be
read in the Râmâyana and the Mahâbhârata epics.

One of the Mahâbhârata chapters is the Bhagavat-Gîtâ, which can be considered as one of the most
beautiful spiritual texts in the world, whatever the religion.

Known in the human world thanks to His Avatâra, Vishnu has also, in the world of Gods (Deva ), many
other names. Some of them are :

Gopala ( the Cow-herd, another name for Krishna),

Narayana, also called Shesheya (The Lord who rests on the Primordial Waters, lying on Ananta, the
Serpent of Eternity),
Keshava (the Long-haired),
Sarangapani (the Lord of the musical instruments),
Janardana (an awful form) : The Lord who distresses the human beings, etc.

One concedes two Shakti to Vishnu : Lakshmî (also called Shri Devî) and Bhû Devî who may have
many other names and forms, according to various local customs.
The usual Vishnu emblems are the conch (shanka ), the wheel or solar disk (chakra ), the club and
the lotus flower. Vishnu is many times crowned by a tall head dress, in the shape of a troncated cone. His
mount-animal is an eagle, named Garuda , often represented with a human head.

Shiva
The Shiva devotees worship Shiva. He rarely manifests Himself to human beings. According to His specific
functions or iconographic representations, a lot of names (symbolically 1008 names) are given to Him. He
may have an awful form (like Bhairava, often displayed in the Kathmandu valley - Nepal) but also a
benevolent aspect. Among the Shiva's names, one will quote the following :

Shiva Natarâja (The Lord who perfoms the cosmic dance of destruction and creation of the worlds),
Shiva Natesha (Dancing Shiva),
Bhikshâtâna-mûrti (The Lord who is begging),
Lingaraja (The Master of the Lingam),
Pashupati (The Master of animals),
Yogeshavara (The King of the yogi),
Shiva Lakulîsha (The Master of the Yogi),
Kumbeshvara (The Master of the pots),
Nageshvara (The Master of the Nâga),
Dakshinâmûrti (The Master of Arts and Music); He is watching to the south direction (dakshina) and is
often represented on the temple walls; He is holding the sacred book of the Veda
Mahâdeva (The Great God),
Lingodbhava-murtî (The Lord who rises out the Lingam),
Nîlakhanta (Shiva with a blue throat),
Sundareshvara (The Nice Lord, worshipped in the Madurai main temple),
Ardhanarishvara (Shiva represented half-man half woman),
and, very ususual, Harihara, twin representation of Shiva and Vishnu on the same body, etc.

Shiva is frequently accompanied by His wife. A wife's god is a female counterpart or Shakti (see above).
Shakti is the cosmic energy, the energy of creation of the god. Shakti is not really distinct from the god.

According to Their functions, the Shakti of Shiva are benevolent (Pârvatî ), warlike (Durgâ ), or awful
and destructive (Kâlî ).

However, Kâlî is often worshipped as the Divine Great Mother, in Kolkota for instance. These goddesses
themselves have various forms and names. For exemple, Pârvatî (The Mountaineer, daughter of the King
of Himalaya) can be named as

Umâ,
Minakshi ("The goddess with a fish-eye", worshipped in Madurai),
Kumârî (worshipped in Nepal),
Mâyâ, Châmundâ, Annapûrnâ, etc..

Another exemple. Durgâ has been many times represented under the famous form of the goddess
Mahîshâsuramardinî, the sixteen-armed Durgâ, riding a lion, who kills in a raging fight the demon-king
Mahisha who had took the form of a buffalo.

As all gods do, Shiva holds in His hands different objects, attributes which symbolize His functions :

the trident
the blaze that Shiva Natarâja holds in one hand,
the crescent of moon in His hair,
one or several skulls,
a magic club (parashu),
a tiger skin,
a deer, etc.
His vahana is a beautiful white bull, Nandi , which can be seen everywhere, sitting in front of the
temple gateways and sanctuaries devoted to Shiva.

Nevertheless, in His innumerable temples, Shiva is most often worshipped under the symbolic form of the
Lingam . The Lingam is a cylindrical stone, sometimes of a huge size, with an egglike top. The Lingam
basis is fixed on a round or oval pedestal, the Yoni .

Both represent the Principle of Creation, the union of male and female symbols. Indeed, we must
understand that Shiva is not only a Destructor : Shiva only destroys for the purpose of transformation,
since transformation is always requested to allow life to be perpetuated throughout cycles.

Devî
The prominence of the female Shakti symbolism affords a particular place to divine images in cults.
Shakti is the Power which permits god to act.

Both aspects, the creative one and the destructive one, are emphasized thanks to an extensive number of
images.

The Shakti of each of the three main gods (Trimûrti) is many times represented with them, on stone
temple images and other images.

One comprises the Shakti goddesses as Devî.

Devî, associated with Shiva, Vishnu, Sûrya and Ganesh, are the Pañcha Devata, the Five main Gods in
Hinduism and are all worshipped daily since more than 1000 years.

Some more Gods

The purpose of this chapter is neither to provide a broad and comprehensive view about Hinduism,
neither to give explanations about secrets and numerous rituals of this very complex religion. This is why
we will only indicate some definitions and exemples.

The history of India plunges deeply in the roots of a very ancient past. The archeological diggings of
antique cities (Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa) have demonstrated that a brilliant agricultural civilization has
developped more than four thousand years ago. Then, after a decline of this Indus civilization, came
progressively from western central Asia areas, so-called aryan tribes, who were initially transhumant
shep-herds. There is no general agreement, among specialists, if these aryan people were warriors who
destroyed the prevalent civilization, or if they progressively melted themselves with the local people,
bringing their customs and believes.

So, with these invasions were introduced other believes, the Vedic gods. However, the local cults
remained used even after a long period, particularly in South India, because Aryans stayed mainly in
North India. After long time, all these cults started to be intermixed...

Specific Vedic gods, who initially symbolized natural elements, can be found here and there, for instance :
Sûrya (the Sun, to whom was dedicated the famous Konarak temple in Orissa ( ), Indra , (the Sky,
Master of Gods), Varuna (Waters), Agni (Fire), Vâyu (Wind), Chandra (Moon), Usha (Dawn),
etc.

Skanda

The Ganesh brother, Skanda , rides on a peacock; He is the god of war. Skanda is sometimes
represented with His brother Ganesh and Their parents Shiva and Pârvatî. Skanda is easy to recognize
thanks to His mount, the peacock. On other representations (Tamil Nadu), He is shown six-headed, and
therefore named Shanmukha (Shan = six, mukha = faces). After an unlucky competition with His brother
Ganesh, He decided to remain a bachelor and to stay in mountains. However, according to other legends,
one reports that He has two wives, Valli et Devanai.

Ganesh
Ganesh is usually also named Ganesha or Ganapati.

He is a singular God, who appeared in hinduism, according to most specialists (all of them do not agree
with this statement), in the first centuries A.D. Several terracotta recently discovered seem to testify this.

Ganesh is one of the most important Gods of hinduism. In ancient times, He was not so important as the
main gods of the Trimûrti (Brahmâ, Vishnu et Shiva). But progressively, He took a major place into the
people's life.

As proof, innumerable Ganesh devotees consider Him as the Supreme Deity. The Gânapatîya sect ,
active in the western coast of India (Maharashtra) from more than 1000 years, gives testimony of that
fact.

Son of Shiva, Ganesh should not be normally worshipped by Vishnu devotees. However, in reality, one
may verify that Ganesh goes beyond the barriers between sects. He is so universal that a legend tells He
is a son of Vishnu too ! Besides, one sometimes find small Ganesh shrines in Vishnu temples...

His qualification of Vighneshvara, "The Lord of Obstacles" (i.e. He is the god able to raise obstacles, but
also to put obstacles if we don't worship Him properly). So, He is widely worshipped in any place in India.

This strong faith towards Ganesh led to consider Him as one of the Pañcha Devata. Shankarâchârya ,
the great philosopher of the Vedanta (9th century), stated officially that the Ganesh cult should be
henceforth introduced in the orthodox hinduism .

The Ganesh cult is also recognized by the Jain religion, in the major Svetâmbara branch, as well as
among Buddhists from Nepal and other countries.

The importance of Ganesh / Ganapati in Buddhism can be found in the belief of the Mahâyâna
Buddhism that the Ganapati Hridaya mantra had been teached to Ananda by Buddha Himself.

Thus the Ganesh cult has expanded outside India ( ) in South-East Asia, in Tibet, in China, in Central
Asia, in Mongolia and in Japan, simultaneously with the Mahâyâna Buddhism.

In Japan, for exemple, a special cult is given to Him. And many proofs of His antique presence have been
found in Cambodia, during the Khmer period, in Vietnam (formerly, these two countries were not
separated for long times), in Afghanistan, in Thaïland, in Indonesia.

According to the usual definition, Ganesh or Ganapati is "The Lord who removes obstacles" and "the Lord
who grants success" (Siddhi ).

Since more than two thousand years, most likely, He is invoked at the very beginning of auspicious
opportunities, like marriages and other various occasions (inaugurating a shop, starting a travel, taking an
examination, etc.).

Jaïn and Buddhist seem to have embodied Ganesh in their own cult from the 9th century forward. This
assimilation has occured only after the development of a specific Ganesh cult, during the first Gupta
period, from the 5th century forward. What has happened before this Gupta dynasty (characterized by
wonderful achievements on cultural and artistic grounds), is much less known, whereas the seldomness of
material remnants.

Places where Ganesh can be found in India are really innumerable. All cities, all villages own at least one
temple or a shrine, small or big, a stele, a stone indicating the cult place...

Each of them have its particular history, or a local legend. Moreover, Ganesh images in public gardens, on
street pavements, on ghats and river shores, above the doorway lintels, from the biggest palaces to
the most modest houses, can be found everywhere...

Other creatures
They are really numberless :
 The deified major rivers (Gangâ , Yamunâ ),
Hanuman , the chief-commander of monkeys, who gives assistance to Râma in the battle against
Râvana, the Lankâ king who has kidnapped His wife Sîtâ
Demons like the Râkshasa , among whom the most known is Râvana
Temple "threshold door keepers" (Dvârapâla )
Celestial beings like the Kinnara, Yakshi , Apsarâ , Gandharva
The Yoginî , awful female assistants of goddess Kâlî
The Nâga , serpents who live in wonderful cities and realms underground
The numerous Gana , Shiva's servants
Monsters like the Yâlî , etc.

Tibetan and Nepalese gods

Although Ganesh is found in many places in Nepal (less often in Tibet, seemingly), we will not develop
on this site the description of gods worshipped in these regions. We will limit ourselves to a few words.

Many divine forms are "specialized" names of the Buddha; therefore, they are not hindu gods : the five
Jina Buddha , the medecine Buddha, the female counterparts of the Buddha (most known of them are
the Green Târâ (Shyâmatârâ) and the White Târâ (Sitatârâ). Boddhisattva too; most known is
Avalokiteshvara .

Boddhisattva are the realized human beings who made, by compassion for all suffering creatures, the vow
to reincarnate themselves as many times as necessary to guide them in the spiritual path towards
Liberation.

Other gods have taken a true regional importance as did Bhairava (an awful Shiva form) in Nepal,
Mahâkâla (another Shiva form, as the Great Destructor - Kâla being the Time who actually ruins all
things), Vajrapani (a local name for Indra), Palden Lamö.

We could not name all of them, and even less for the minor deities.