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The Vedic gods were the gods of the primitive agricultural peoples of the very earliest times. The Vedic gods were elemental powers.
There were several Vedic gods. Scroll down or click here to read more on the various Vedic gods.
The Brahmanic gods had a more refined form of worship similar to that of the Vedic gods. The Brahmanic gods had a more refined form of worship similar to that of the Vedic gods. The Brahmanic gods appeared about fifteen centuries or more before the birth of Christ.
The Brahmanic Gods formed a trinity. They are
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Brahma The Creator Vishnu The Preserver Shiva The Destroyer |
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 sacificial 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. |
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 knowled ge 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. |
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 attri butes 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. |
Krishna |
Because of his great godly power, Lord Krishna is another of the most commonly worshipped deities in the Hindu faith. He, like Lord Rama, is also known for his bravery in destroying evil powers throughout his life. The Lord is usually depictted as play ing the flute (murali), indicating spread of the melody of love to people. He is also shown with his childhood devotee and girl-companion Radha. The Lord is usually remembered and worshipped as Radha-Krishna. The pair symbolizes the etern al 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. |
Hanuman |
Hanumana 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 b ravery 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). |
Ganpati (Ganesha) |
This god of knowlededge and the remover of obstacles is also the older son of Lord Shiva. Lord Ganesha is also called Vinayak (kowledeable) or Vighneshwer (god to remove obstacles). He is worshipped, or at least remembered, in the beginning of any au spicious 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 d essert 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, intellege nce, and presence of mind. |
Lakshmi |
She is the 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. |
Durga |
She is the wife 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 ener gy (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 a nd love. She has a charming personality. She is adored by married women for a happy married life. |
Saraswati |
She is the wife of Lord Brahma and possesses the powesr 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). |
The Vedic Gods There were several Vedic gods. Dyaus was the god or the bright sky; Varuna the Water God; Indra the hurler of Thunder Bolts, and Compeller of Clouds; Surya the God of Light; Savitar another personification of the sun; Soma the God of Light and Dark; Agni the God of Fire; Vayu the God of the Winds, or of the Air; and Ushas the Goddess of Wisdom. Indra (M) Hindu
Prithvi and Dyaus | Prithvi, the earth, and Dyaus, the sky or heaven, were symbolized as cow and bull. They were early deities, worshipped as fertility gods and considered to have engendered all the other gods and men. Their importance diminished however and, though they survived into later pantheons, their progeny was much reduced. Usha, the dawn, was their daughter and Agni, the fire, their son. But their greatest claim to fame is through Indra, another son. Prithvi was the heroic female and Dyaus, the vigorous god. |
Varuna | Varuna is also a sky-god: according to another account, a water-god. Varuna is considered a thousand-eyed god who sees all that happens in the world. The name is derived from Var, to cover, or to overarch: and so far Varna means the vault of heaven. |
Indra | Indra is the sky god and the son of Prithvi and Dyaus. He is depicted as a four-armed man on a white elephant carrying a thunderbolt. It is he who slashes the clouds with his thunderbolt to release the rain.He is the chief god and king of heaven. At the time of Indra's birth the heavens, the earth and the mountains began to shake and all the gods were afraid. Prithvi, herself, was fearful and hid her son and gave him no attention. None of the gods came to the infant's aid for they all felt, as was indeed the case, that this child was the herald of great changes in the divine order and, possibly, of their own doom. |
Surya | The chief sun god and in time Savitri and Vivasat were absorbed to become mere aspects of him. Surya has golden hair and arms, and rides a golden chariot drawn by seven mares or alternatively by a mare with seven heads. He became an honorary Aditya for he was reffered to as the eye of Varuna and Mitrs. He's considered to be the son of Dyaus. He was the father of the Aswins by a nymph who disguised herself as a mare and was therefore called Aswini. Soma is sometimes said to be another son of Surya. |
Savitar | Savitar is an all powerful Sun god. His name means the "Inspirer," and is derived from the root sa, to drive or stimulate. As the sun-god he is spoken of as the golden-eyed, golden-tongued, and golden-handed. The golden handed referes to when he cut off one hand at a sacrifice, and priests gave him a golden hand to replace it. |
Soma | Soma in some respects the myth of Soma is the most curious of any. Soma, as the intoxicating juice of the Soma platn, corresponds to the mixture of honey and blood of the Qoasir, which, in the Norse mythology, inparts prolonged life to the gods. In the Rigveda the Soma is similarly described; as also the process by which it is converted into an intoxication liquied. Buy in the same hymns Soma is also described as an all-powerful god. It is he who gives strenght to Indra, and enable him to conquer his enemy Vritra, the snake of darkness. He is further, like Vishnu, Indra, and Varuna, at the supp0orter of heaven and earth, and gods and men; thus it would seem as if the myth of the god Soma is but an instance of that retishistic stage in the history of the human kind during which men attributed consious life and energy to whatever hurt or benefited them. |
Agni | Agni is the god of fire, the guardian of homes, and the protector of humans against evil. |
Vayu | Vayu is the god or the winds, or of the aur. Allied to him are the Maruts,--the storm-gods, or "crushers," whose name is derived from a root meaning to grind. |
Ushas | Ushas is the Goddess of Wisdom. The name ushas is derived from a root us, to burn. She is also the same as the Sanscrit Ahoma. The language in which the physical ushas was spoken of was expecially capable or easy transformation into a purely spiritual meaning. |
