HINDUISM – gods

1. Annapurna
- the Hindu goddess of food and cooking.
- Empowered with the ability to supply food to an unlimited amount of people
2. Ganesha
- Became the lord of all existing being
- All tantric and spiritual worship in the Hindu tradition begins with the
invocation of lord Ganesha.
3. Matangi
- He was from the lowest caste known as Chandal
- Matangi is one of the ten Mahavidyas
- Tantric form of Sarasvati – the goddess of music and learning
4. Balrama
- Balrama is a symbol of strength
- An obedient son, an ideal brother and husband
- He is a protector from desires, the divinity of strength or
- The strength of the divine
- Symbolizing duty, honesty and simplicity

5. Garuda
- King of birds
- Acts as a messenger between the god and men
- Garuda has the head, wings, talon and beak of an eagle and the body and limbs of
a man
6. Ram
- Ram is the 7th incarnation of Vishnu
- Central figure of Ramayana epic
- Ramayana is epic is the principal narration of events connected to his
incarnation on earth.
- Ram is one of the many popular deities in Hinduism
7. Brahma
- Brahma is the Creator
- The creator of the four Vedas
- the ultimate formless metaphysical reality and cosmic soul in Hinduism
8. Buddha
- Ninth incarnation of Vishnu
- Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism.
 - He is recognized by Buddhists as an enlightened or divine
9. Vishnu
- The hindu god Vishnu is the preserver and protector of creation
- Vishnu is the embodiment of mercy and goodness
- Preserves the universe and maintains the cosmic order Dharma
10. Vamana
- Fifth incarnation of Vishnu
- Born as a dwarf into the household of a Brahmin priest
- Vamana then revealed his identity and enlarged to gigantic proportions to stride
over the three worlds.
- He stepped from heaven to earth with the first step,
- from earth to the netherworld with the second.
- King Mahabali, unable to fulfill his promise, offered his head for the third.
11. Kurma
- The second tortoise incarnation of Lord Vishnu
- At the Chumming of the Ocean, the Mount Mandara that was used as a churning
stick, began to sink into the soft ocean bed.
- This caused Vishnu to assume the form of the tortoise – avatar, diving to the
bottom where his back becam a pivot for the churning stick
- The Kurma incarnation also represents the stage in the development of life
- The turtle is also the symbol of perseverance
12. Saraswati
- Hindu goddess of knowledge, music and all the creative arts
- Saraswati is called the Mother of Veda’s and repository of Brahma’s creative
intelligence
- Saraswati is also called Vak Devi, the goddess of speech
- New arts and traditions originate with Saraswati, the hindu goddess of art
- Main muse of every indian artist

BRAYNEL”S PART

13. Buddha

- ninth incarnation of Vishnu, following Ram and Krishna

- Various forms of Buddha are worshipped in Buddhism in ways that are very
similar to the worship of Hindu gods.

- One example is the Amithaba Buddha, seen as the main bodhisattva form of the fire
element and embodies wisdom and essential euality.
 -Another example is the Shakyammuni Buddha, purpose is to reveal the path leading
to full enlightenment.

- Buddha’s conception was miraculous.

- Buddha’s search for purpose is unparallel.

14. Kali

- is a ferocious form of the Divine Mother her Shakti(mother Gauri) to free the gods
from the dominion of the demonic forces of Shumbh and Nishumbh,

- is the goddess of time and of the transformation that is death (Kala)

- is the Kundalini (one’s dormant spiritual energy)that paralyses the

attachments(causes fear of death) produced by the solar and lunar currents

- Kali removes the avidya(ignorance ) that makes us fear death

-Kali is the first of the ten Mahavidyas (great knowledge ) therefore kali is also
known as Adya, the firstborn.

15. Shakti

- is the divine force, manifesting to destroy demonic forces and restore balance.

- without Shakti, gods will have no power.

*Lakshmi is the energy of Vishnu.

*Paravati is energy of Shiva.

- Mother of the goddess, the source of all, the universal principle of energy, power or
creativity.

- Female energy has no beginning and no end.

16. Dhanwantari

- is the physician of the gods, the promulgator of the Ayurveda(physical and psychic
behaviour of people)

- arose at the time of the “churning of the ocean of milk” ( )holding the cup of
Amrita, the life-giving elixir.

- are often found in the shrines of Ayurvedic docters since he brought medical
science to the world.
 -great surgeon who taught.

17. Kartikay

-Is a son of Shiva and brother to Ganesha (spiritual attitude)

- Kartikay is the scientist of the gods.

- bears 31 names

- Kartikay became commander of the army of the gods and slew the demon Taraka.

18. Shiva

- is the gods of the yogis, self-controlled and celibate, while at the same time a lover
of his spouse(shakti)

- Destroyer of the worlds

- Responsible for change both in the form of death and destruction and in the
positive sense of destroying the ego, the false identification with the form.

-conseuently, Shiva has great purifying power on a more personal level when
problems make us see reality more clearly, as on a universal level.

Forms of Shiva

Shiva has many forms, which are visible in his Panchavaktra form with 5 heads, a
combination of all Shiva energies

 Aghora ( resides in the creamation grounds)

 Ishara (most often appears as the shivalingam
 Tat Purusha (meditating)
 Varna Deva (the eternal Shiva)
 Saddhoyat or Braddha Rudra (the old wrathful form)

- Another manifestation of Lord Shiva is said to be Hanuman, the ultimate karma

yogi, in never-ending selfless service to Ram
- Great conqueror of death.

19. Dhumavati

- is the smoky form of Shakti.

 - known as the eternal widow, the Shakti without Shiva.

-She is ugly and also called Alakshmi, the one who is without lakshmi or radiance

- is the Divine Mother at the time of the deluge, when Earth is under Water.

- is one of the ten Mahavidyas (great knowledge; represent some or other

incarnation or manifestation of the Divine Mother)

20. Krishna

- is usually regarded as the eight incarnation of Lord Vishnu and was born in the
Dvarpara Yuga as the “dark one”

-is the embodiment of love and divine joy, that destroys all ain and sin.

-is the protector of sacred utterances and cows.

- Krishna is an instigator of all forms of knowledge and born to establish the religion
of love

- Radha and Krishna are the divine couple that rules love , romance and the aesthetic
sense.

-In India, women often see their husbands as Krishna, while men see their wives as
Radha, the beloved( Love and Devotion)

-Krishna’s love was truly universal; Radha sometimes expressed feelings of jealousy.

-Krishna spoke memorable words on the essence of Bhakti Yoga or the yoga of pure
spiritual devotion.

21. Sita

- consort of Hindu god Rama(avatar of Vishnu) and is an avatar of Lakshi (Adi Shakti
of Lord

Vishnu), goddess of wealth and wife of Vishnu.

- Known for her dedication self-sacrifice, courage and purity

- Abducted by the demon king Ravana and subsequent rescue are the central
incidents in the
- Sita is the consort of Lord Rama, the seventh avatar

22. Durga
-Durga in Sanskrit means “invincible”; syllable “du” is synonymous with the four
evils of poverty, suffering famine, and evil habits. The “r” refers to the diseases and
the “ga” is the destroyer of sins, injustice, irreligion, cruelty and laziness.

- is an incarnation of Devi or the Mother Goddess, a unified symbol of all divine

forces.

-Durga is the wife of Shiva

- The Hindu Goddess Durga manifested when evil forces threathened the very
existence of the gods.

- Durga obtained very powerful weapons such as the chakra from Vishnu and a
trident from Shiva.

- killed the powerful demon Mahish and all his great commanders.

-*when demonic forces create imbalance, all gods unite, becoming one divine force
called Shakti or Durga.

23. Kurma

- or the Koorm Avatar, is the second, tutoise-incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

- Kurma incarnation also represents the stage in the development of life,

when the ability to breathe air and walk out of the water developed.

- The turtle is also the symbol of perseverance.

24. Vamana

-is the fifth incarnation of Vishnu, born as a dward into the household of a
Brahmin priest

- tricked the demon king Bali to grant him as much of his empire as he could
measure in 3 steps: With the first step he covered all of Earth.

- The first step he covered all of Earth.

- with the third step, Vamana pushed Bali back to the underworld or Patala Loka

- the second step he covered all the heavens and while doing that Brahma was his
feet in his Kamandula or water pot. Out of that pot, Ganga was born

25. Ganga

- the life of the goddess ganga, who incarnated as the Ganga (Ganges) river.
-*is the most revered river in the world.

- According to the Puranas (Holy Scriptures of Hindus), the sight, the name and the
touch of Ganga takes away all sins

- the only living goddess of Hindu mythology

- Ganga was believed to be born from the kamandala of Brahma , touched the feet of
Vamana and trapped in the locks of Krishna. According to the Skanda Purana
,Shiva marries both the daughters of Himavan.These two daughters are Ganga and
Uma(Parvathi).

26. Lakshmi

-was the daughter of the sage Bhrigu and took refuge in the ocean of milk when the
gods were sent into the exile. Lakshmi was reborn during the Chruning of the Ocean.

- Shiva claimed Lakshmi as his wife, but since he had already take the Moon, her
hand was given to Vishnu, whom Lakshmi herself preferred.

- is the goddess of light, beauty , good fortune and wealth.

- Being the consort of Vishnu, the preserving principle, Lakshmi also signifies love
and grace.

-Lakshmi often expresses her devotion to Vishnu by massaging his feet as he lies on
the coils of the snake Shesha.

27. Vishnu

- the Hindu god Vishnu is the preserver and protector of creation. Vishnu is the
embodiment of mercy and goodness, the self-existent, all pervading power that
preserves the universe and maintains the cosmic order Dharma( )

- Vishnu is often represented resting on the coiled serpent, Shesha, with Vishnu’s
consort Lakshmi massaging his feet.

-Vishnu never sleeps ans is the deity of Shanti, the peaceful mood.

- Vishnu is shown with four attributes or weapons, in one hand, Vishnu holds the
onch or Sankha. The second hand of Vishnu holds the disc or Vaijra. The third hand
holds the club and in the fourth holds the lotus or Padma.Vishnu also has a bow
called Sanga and a sword called Nandaka.
- Most of the time, good and evil forces are evenly matched in the world. But at
times, the balance is destroyed and evil demons get the upper hand. Often in
response to a request by the other gods, Vishnu then incarnates in a human form to
set the balance right again. 10 Vishnu incarnations are generally recognized as the
most important Vishnu avatars, even though opinions differ naturally and some
sources may also see other important figures of the Indian heritage as incarnations
of Vishnu.