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Lord Shiva |
Lord Shiva appears in a meditating but ever-happy posture. He has matted hair which holds the flowing Ganges river and a crescent moon, a serpent coiled around his neck, a trident (trishul) in his one hand and ashes all over his body.
The Lord's attributes represent his victory over the demonic activity, and calmness of human nature. He is known as the "giver" god. His vehicle is a bull (symbol of happiness and strength) named Nandi.
Shiva-Linga, a sign of the Lord, is adored instead of him. Shiva temples have Shiva-Linga as the main deity.
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Lord Vishnu |
The preserver god of the Trinity has four hands. The first holds a conch shell (sankha) indicating spread of the divine sound "Om"; one holds a discus (chakra), a reminder of the wheel of time, and to lead a good life; one holds a lotus (Padma) which is an example of glorious existence and the fourth hands holds a mace (gada) indicating the power and the punishing capacity of the Lord if discipline in life is ignored.
His vehicle is the swift-flying bird Garuda which can spread the Vedic knowledge with great courage. The dark color of the Lord represents the passive and formless ether, a great quality for a pervading god. He rests on the bed of the powerful, coiled serpent, Seshanag who represents the sleeping universe. Lord Vishnu is also known as Hari, the remover.
Lord Vishnu's consort is Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth .
There are ten Avataras of Vishnu. The aim of every Avatara is to save the world from some great danger, to destroy the wicked and protect the virtuous. The ten Avataras are: Matsya (The Fish), Kurma (The Tortoise), Varaha (The Boar), Narasimha (The Man-Lion), Vamana (The Dwarf), Parasurama (Rama with the axe, the destroyer of the Kshatriya race), Ramachandra (the hero of the Ramayana—the son of Dasaratha, who destroyed Ravana), Sri Krishna, the teacher of the Gita, Buddha (the prince-ascetic, founder of Buddhism), and Kalki (the hero riding on a white horse, who is to come at the end of the Kali-Yuga).
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Lord Brahmma |
Lord Brahma, the creator God of the Trinity appears seated on a lotus (a symbol of glorious existence), He has four heads and hands. 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.
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Lord Ganesh |
This God of knowledge and the remover of obstacles is also the older son of Lord Shiva. Lord Ganesha is also called Vinayak ( knowledgeable ) or Vighneshwer (god to remove obstacles). He is worshipped, or at least remembered, in the beginning of any auspicious performance for blessings and auspiciousness.
He has four hands, elephant's head and a big belly. His vehicle is a tiny mouse. In his hands he carries a rope (to carry devotees to the truth), an axe (to cut devotees' attachments), and a sweet dessert ball -laddoo- (to reward devotees for spiritual activity). His fourth hand's palm is always extended to bless people.
A unique combination of his elephant-like head and a quick moving tiny mouse vehicle represents tremendous wisdom, intellegence, and presence of mind.
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Lord Murugan,valli, devanai
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Kartikeya, the second son of Lord Shiva, and Goddess Parvati is also known as Subramaniam, Skanda, Guha, Shadannana or Sanmukha (because he has six faces).
He represents a person of perfection. He is the war God, the Hindu equivalent of Mars and Ares. He was created by all the Gods to lead the heavenly hosts and destroy the demons. He is the most masculine and fierce of all the Gods. He is also fire, Agni and is very Pitta (fiery) in nature. While Ganesh removes all obstacles, Skanda bestows all spiritual powers, particularly the power of knowledge.
In one hand he carries a spear called sakti which symbolizes the destruction of negative tendencies in humans. With his other hand he always blesses devotees.
The Lord's vehicle is a peacock which is capable of destroying harmful serpents (symbolizing harmful ego and bad desires of people).
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Lord Shiva and Parvati |
Shiva is the god of the yogis,
self-controlled and celibate, while at the same time a lover
of his spouse (shakti). Shiva lives on Mount
Kailasa in the Himalayas.
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Lord Rama, Laxman, Sita |
Lord Rama is one of the most commonly adored gods of Hindus and is known as an ideal man and hero of the epic Ramayana.
He is always holding a bow and arrow indicating his readiness to destroy evils. He is also called "Shri Rama". More commonly he is pictured in a family style, (Ram Parivar) with his wife Sita, brother Lakshman and devotee Hanuman who is sitting near Lord Rama's feet.
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Lord Hanuman(Anjaneya) |
Hanuman is a monkey god. He is a noble hero and great devotee of Lord Rama of the Ramayana.
This deity is a provider of courage, hope, knowledge, intellect and devotion. He is pictured as a robust monkey holding a mace (gada) which is a sign of bravery and having a picture of Lord Rama tatooed on his chest which is a sign of his devotion to Lord Rama.
He is also called Mahaveera (the great hero ) or Pavan-suta (son of air) or Bajarangbali.
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Lord Krishnan and Radha |
Because of his great Godly power, Lord Krishna is another of the most commonly worshipped deities in the Hindu faith. He is considered to be the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Shree Krishna delivered Bhagwad Gita on battlefield to Arjun.
He, like Lord Rama, is also known for his bravery in destroying evil powers throughout his life. The Lord is usually depicted as playing the flute (murali), indicating spread of the melody of love to people.
He is also shown with his childhood devotee Radha. The Lord is usually remembered and worshipped as Radha-Krishna. The pair symbolizes the eternal love between people and god.
Lord Krishna is also shown with his pet cow, his childhood favorite. Lord Krishna performed many divine sports (leela) as a child.
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Lord Krishnan and Arjun |
The Bhagavad Gita is the highest expression of philosophical Hinduism. It is a chapter of the immense Indian epic, the Mahabharata, the saga of the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
Arjuna, hero of the Pandavas, is about to confront the army of the Kauravas on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. Among the opposing army are his friends and relatives. Convinced that it would be wrong to kill his own kinsmen, Arjuna is overcome by despair. He lays down his bow and declares that he will not fight.
The God Vishnu, incarnated as the charioteer Krishna, explains that Arjuna should do his duty and do battle. The human soul, which is part of the universal soul, is immortal - therefore no-one is actually slain. If people perform the duties appropriate to their station, without attachment to success or failure, then they cannot be stained by action. The rest of the poem provides the full philosophy underlying this insight.
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Goddess Durga |
Goddess Durga, also known as Parvati or Lalitha is the wife (consort) of Lord Shiva and exists in various divine (both friendly and fearful) forms. Two of her fierce but very powerful forms are Durga (goddess beyond reach) and Kali (goddess of destruction).
Both have eight hands and great power and energy (Shakti). Durga rides on a lion and Kali rides on a corpse of a demon. Parvati was called Sati in her previous divine incarnation. The family of Lord Shiva, Parvati and their sons Ganesha and Kartikeya is an ideal example of family unity and love.
She has a charming personality. She is adored by married women for a happy married life.
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Goddess Saraswati |
Goddess Saraswati (Sarasvati) is the wife (consort) of Lord Brahma and possesses the powers of speech, wisdom and learning. She has four hands representing four aspects of human personality in learning; mind, intellect, alertness and ego.
She has sacred scriptures in one hand and a lot us (a symbol of true knowledge) in the second. With her other two hands she plays the music of love and life on the violin (veena).
She is dressed in white (sign of purity) and rides on a white goose (swan).
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Goddess Laxmi |
Goddess Lakshmi is the consort or wife of Lord Vishnu and is the goddess of prosperity, purity, chastity and generosity.
Her four hands represent four spiritual virtues. She sits on a fully blossomed lotus, a seat of divine truth. Her personal charm is considered par excellence. An aura of divine happiness, mental and spiritual satisfaction, and prosperity always exist around her.
Her palm is always extended to bless people. She is adored by Lord Ganesha
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Navagra |
In this section, we explore the nine planet deities. These nine deities are also referred to as Nava (Nine) Grahas (Planets). These grahas are supposed to have a significant impact on the lives of an individual. The Hindu science of study of these planets is called the 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.
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