HINDUISM BRAMHA is known as the creator of in . Brahma is sometimes identified with the Vedic god , he is also known as Vedanatha the god of , Gyaneshwar the god of Knowledge, Chatur- mukha as he has Four Faces, Svayambhu as he was self born, Brahmanarayana because he is half Brah- ma and half , etc. He is more prominently mentioned in the post Vedic Hindu epics and the mythologies in the . In the epics, he is con- flated with . Although, Brahma is part of the Brahma-Vishnu- , ancient Hindu scriptures mention multiple other of or which do not include Brahma. Sever- al Puranas describe him as emerging from a lotus, connected to the navel of Lord Vishnu. Other Pura- nas suggest that he is born from Shiva or his aspects, or he is a supreme god in diverse versions of . Brahma, along with other , is sometimes viewed as a form saguna of the otherwise formless nirguna , the ultimate metaphys- ical in Vedantic Hinduism. Brahma does not enjoy popular in present-age Hinduism and has lesser importance than the other members of the Trimurti, Vishnu and Shiva. LORD VISHNU Vishnu is one of the principal deities of Hindu- ism, and the Supreme or truth in its tradition. Vishnu is the “preserver” in the Hindu Trimurti that includes Brahma and Shiva. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is identical to the formlessmetaphysical concept called Brahman, the supreme, the Svayam , who takes various as “the preserver, protector” whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destruc- tive forces. His avatars most notably include in the and in the . He is also known as , , Vasude- va, , and . He is one of the five equiva- lent deities worshipped in Panchayatana of the Smarta Tradition of Hinduism.In Hindu iconog- raphy, Vishnu is usually depicted as having a pale or dark blue complexion and having four arms. He holds a padma (lotus flower) in his lower left hand, (mace) in his lower right hand, (conch) in his upper left hand and the Sudarshana in his upper right hand (discusin his upper right hand. A traditional depic- tion is Vishnu reclining on the coils of the serpent, accompanied by his consort . LORD SHIVA Shiva also known as Mahadeva is one of the prin- cipal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being within , one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Shiva is known as “The Destroyer” within the Trimurti, the Hindu that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is the Supreme being who creates, protects and transforms the . In the tradition of Hinduism called , the , or , is described as supreme, yet Shiva is revered along with Vishnu and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power () of each, with () the equal complementary partner of Shiva. He is one of the five equivalent deities in of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to the Shaivism , the highest form of Shiva is form- less, limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, and the primal Atman (, self) of the universe. There are many both benevolent and fear- some depictions of Shiva. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient who lives an ascetic life on as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, and Kar- tikeya. In his fierce aspects, he is often depicted slay- ing demons. GODDESS Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, , and learning. She is a part of the trinity () of Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati. All the three forms help the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva to create, maintain, and regenerate-recycle the Universe, respectively. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a goddess is in the . She has re- mained significant as a goddess from the Vedic peri- od through modern times of Hindu traditions. Some celebrate the festival of Vasant (the fifth day of spring, and also known as Saraswati Puja and Saraswati Jayanti in so many parts of ) in her honour, and mark the day by helping young children learn how to write alphabets on that day. The God- dess is also revered by believers of the Jain of west and central India, as well as some Buddhist . Saraswati, is asnskrit fusion word of saras meaning “pooling water”, but also sometimes translated as “speech”; and vati meaning “she who possesses” (also found in the name of Parvati, “She who has wings”). Originally associated with the river or rivers known as Saraswati, this combination therefore means “she who has ponds, lakes, and pooling water” or occasionally “she who possesses speech”. It is also a com- posite word of surasa-vati which means “one with plenty of water”. GODDESS LAXMI Laxmi, is the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity. She is the wife and shakti (energy) of Vishnu, one of the principal deities of Hinduism and the Supreme Being in the Vaishnavism Tradi- tion. With Parvati and Saraswati, she forms Tridevi, the holy trinity. Lakshmi is also an important in and found in Jain temples. Lakshmi has also been a goddess of abundance and fortune for and was represented on the oldest surviv- ing stupas and cave temples of Hinduism. Goddess Lakshmi in Hinduism: The goddess of abundance and fortune, Sri Lakshmi, reflected the accumulat- ed wealth and financial independence of the Tamil monasteries. Lakshmi is also called Sri or Thiruma- gal because she is endowed with six auspicious and divine qualities, or gunas, and is the divine strength of Vishnu. In Hindu religion, she was born from the churning of the primordial ocean () and she chose Vishnu as her eternal con- sort. When Vishnu descended on the Earth as the avatars Rama and Krishna, Lakshmi descended as his respective consort. In the ancient scriptures of India, all women are declared to be embodiments of Lakshmi. Lakshmi is considered another aspect of the same supreme goddess principle in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. GODDESS Durga, identified as Adi , is a principal and popular form of Hindu Goddess. She is the warrior goddess, whose mythology centres around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, pros- perity and of the good. She is the fierce form of the protective , willing to unleash her anger against wrong, violence for liberation and destruction to empower creation. Durga is depicted in the Hindu as a Goddess riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon, often defeating . The three principle forms of Durga worshiped are Maha Durga, Chandika and Aparajita. Of these, Chandika has two forms called who is of the combined power and form of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati and of who is a form of created by the goddess for kill- ing demons . Maha Durga has three forms: Ugrachanda, and . Bhadrakali Durga is also worshiped in the form of her nine epithets called .She is a central deity in Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, where she is equated with the concept of called Brahman. One of the most important texts of Shak- tism is , which celebrates Durga as the goddess, creator of the universe. BY: MANSI KULKARNI