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HINDUISM LORD BRAMHA Brahma Is Known As the Creator of God in Hinduism

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HINDUISM LORD BRAMHA Brahma Is Known As the Creator of God in Hinduism HINDUISM LORD BRAMHA Brahma is known as the creator of god in Hinduism. Brahma is sometimes identified with the Vedic god Prajapati, he is also known as Vedanatha the god of Vedas, 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 Vishnu, etc. He is more prominently mentioned in the post Vedic Hindu epics and the mythologies in the Puranas. In the epics, he is con- flated with Purusha. Although, Brahma is part of the Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva Trimurti, ancient Hindu scriptures mention multiple other trinities of gods or goddesses 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 Hindu mythology. Brahma, along with other deities, is sometimes viewed as a form saguna of the otherwise formless nirguna Brahman, the ultimate metaphys- ical reality in Vedantic Hinduism. Brahma does not enjoy popular worship 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 Being or absolute truth in its Vaishnavism tradition. Vishnu is the “preserver” in the Hindu triad Trimurti that includes Brahma and Shiva. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is identical to the formlessmetaphysical concept called Brahman, the supreme, the Svayam Bhagavan, who takes various avatars as “the preserver, protector” whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destruc- tive forces. His avatars most notably include Rama in the Ramayana and Krishna in the Mahabharata. He is also known as Narayana, Jagannath, Vasude- va, Vithoba, and Hari. He is one of the five equiva- lent deities worshipped in Panchayatana puja 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, Kaumodaki gada (mace) in his lower right hand, Panchajanya shankha (conch) in his upper left hand and the Sudarshana Chakra 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 Lakshmi. LORD SHIVA Shiva also known as Mahadeva is one of the prin- cipal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being within Shaivism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Shiva is known as “The Destroyer” within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is the Supreme being who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the tradition of Hinduism called Shaktism, the Goddess, or Devi, is described as supreme, yet Shiva is revered along with Vishnu and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Parvati (Sati) the equal complementary partner of Shiva. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to the Shaivism sect, the highest form of Shiva is form- less, limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, and the primal Atman (soul, self) of the universe. There are many both benevolent and fear- some depictions of Shiva. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kar- tikeya. In his fierce aspects, he is often depicted slay- ing demons. GODDESS SARASWATI Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, wisdom, and learning. She is a part of the trinity (Tridevi) 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 Rigveda. She has re- mained significant as a goddess from the Vedic peri- od through modern times of Hindu traditions. Some Hindus celebrate the festival of Vasant Panchami (the fifth day of spring, and also known as Saraswati Puja and Saraswati Jayanti in so many parts of India) 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 religion of west and central India, as well as some Buddhist sects. 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 Sanskrit 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 deity in Jainism and found in Jain temples. Lakshmi has also been a goddess of abundance and fortune for Tamils 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 (Samudra manthan) 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 Durga, identified as Adi Parashakti, 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 dharma of the good. She is the fierce form of the protective mother goddess, willing to unleash her anger against wrong, violence for liberation and destruction to empower creation. Durga is depicted in the Hindu pantheon as a Goddess riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon, often defeating Mahishasura. The three principle forms of Durga worshiped are Maha Durga, Chandika and Aparajita. Of these, Chandika has two forms called Chandi who is of the combined power and form of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati and of Chamunda who is a form of Kali created by the goddess for kill- ing demons Chanda and Munda. Maha Durga has three forms: Ugrachanda, Bhadrakali and Katyayani. Bhadrakali Durga is also worshiped in the form of her nine epithets called Navadurga.She is a central deity in Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, where she is equated with the concept of ultimate reality called Brahman. One of the most important texts of Shak- tism is Devi Mahatmya, which celebrates Durga as the goddess, creator of the universe. BY: MANSI KULKARNI.
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