Hindu Gods in a Nutshell, I think… by Rina Jakubowicz

Since I started learning about yoga, all of the Hindu gods and goddesses have intrigued me, but have also confused the crap out of me.  I have read information about it online.  I have bought about six different books on Hinduism.  I was even gifted a “simplified version” from a fellow bhakti yogini in an attempt to help me out, but this 75-page book only confused me more. What I needed was  the cliff-note version. Luckily, one of my trainees gave me “The Little Book of Hindu Deities” by Sanjay Patel and slowly these gods started coming more to life.  Especially since, Sanjay works at Pixar so all of the deities are drawn as big-eyed bubbly cartoons, just how I like’em.  In addition, the book explains each deity in one page and has a text size of about 20 points so this is right up my alley.  Thanks Sanjay! 🙂

So, let’s see if I learned anything… Hindus out there, please confirm or deny my ability to understand this simplified explanation. Here goes something…

In Hinduism, God is broken down into three gods, which is referred to as the holy trinity.  In general, they represent creation, preservation and destruction and they work together to restore good in the universe while the demons restore evil.

Specifically, the three gods in this trinity are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Below are the more detailed breakdowns as I understood them.

Brahma is the creator of the universe.  He is married to Goddess Sarasvati, whom he created.  (I recall reading he is also Shiva’s father.  Is that correct?) The Goddess Sarasvati is the goddess of knowledge and arts.  Brahma also created one beautiful daughter with whom he had a very unhealthy obsession.  He learned his lesson though when one of Shiva’s incarnations beheaded one of his five heads leaving him with the four heads he originally had.

Vishnu is the preserver of the universe. Vishnu acts as the invincible preserver of all that is out of balance.  He is married to Goddess Lakshmi who is the goddess of wealth and happiness. She has manifested into two other forms: Sita and Radha.

Vishnu has 10 incarnations (hence his job to restore balance) so brace yourselves…

1. Matsya: Vishnu came as a fish to save the four Vedas from being destroyed, which makes me confused because I thought that Brahma was watching over the four Vedas with his four heads. Maybe I’m wrong.
2. Kurma: Vishnu came as a turtle who held up a moutain and helped move it in order to release a nectar needed to help the other gods win against the demons; only after Kurma kicked some demon butt.
3. Varaha: Vishnu came as a boar who dove into the cosmic ocean to find the planet earth and the other plants in order to bring them back to the surface and save them from a demon.
4. Narasimha: Vishnu came as a lion who killed an “evil” vengeful king, brother of demon in previous incarnation, in a very clever way after the king had tried to kill his own son for being loyal to Vishnu.
5. Vamana: Vishnu came as a dwarf who tricked Bali (the king of the demons) into giving up all his land he had on earth and sending the demons to the underworld, forever!!! (Nothing is forever, I know.)
6. Parashurama: Vishnu came as Rama with an ax who’s lesson was that fighting isn’t always the answer. This one I don’t get at all… Someone, please clarify.
7. Rama: Vishnua came as the great hero of Ramayana story to show us loyalty and bravery.  He is married to Sita who is known as the daughter of earth goddess and who was kidnapped by Ramana. She remained loyal waiting for Rama to come save her.  Although it was Hanuman who saved her, she knew that Rama sent him to find her.  Reminds me of Shrek’s story a bit except that Sita didn’t fall in love with Hanuman…  Now that’s a story!
8. Krishna: Vishnu came as a mischievous god who seemed to be more of a player and having women falling in love with him everywhere.  He was the Ashton Kutcher of his time.  He is married to Radha and had a baby called Kama. They gave birth to the Bhakti movement.
9. Buddha: Vishnu came as this devout yogi to teach us how to attain nirvana and enlightenment. He showed us how to end the cycle of karma. This is my main man Buddha! 🙂
10. Kalki: Vishnu is to come one more time as the avatar of the future. When he comes, he will end the kali yuga era of destruction and start the satya yuga (the age of creation.) Could it be…(cue the suspense music)… 2012?  haha!!!

Shiva is the god of destruction, transformation and regeneration of the universe. He is married to Goddess Parvati who is also known as Uma, Guari and Shakti. They have two children: Ganesha who is the lord of all living things, clears obstacles and brings good luck and Karttikeya who is also known as Skanda, a true warrior.  Shiva embodies more of the enraged and angry qualities of the three gods.  He is also known as the four other gods listed below.

1. Mahesvara is the yang of nature.  Parvati is also known as Uma which is the yin of nature.  Together they complement each other perfectly; Uma Mahesvara.
2. Rudra is known for creating natural disasters, but then with time he changed his actions and became peaceful and generous with others.
3. Bhairara is the darker, scarier form of Shiva since he makes you face your worst fears.
4. Nataraja is known as the king of dancers, and he is dancing to balance the three aspects of trinity.

The goddesses Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvati are all sisters.
There are two other goddesses to mention.  One is Durga who was created by combining aspects of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.  Durga literally means “invincible” and she is fierce and foxy! This one looks like a badass!
The goddess Kali came from Durga and is known as the goddess of time attempting to free us from the cycle of karma.

Phew! I think I am done for now.  I know there are many other gods, goddesses and demigods, but I think that my head is about to explode from trying to figure this all out.  I’m ok with where I have started. I’m considering this Hindu Gods 101.  Please let me know if I would have failed the exam. Thanks for your patience.  🙂

PHOTO: From Sanjay Patel’s “The Little Book of Hindu Deities.”  Order on Amazon here.