“In ancient India there were very simple shapes worship. Idolatry was absent, it was not at the beginning of ancient Indian civilization. As the supreme power they worshiped various forces of nature: the Sun, the Moon, rain, thunder, etc. People were afraid of these natural phenomena because they had no rational explanation. So, nature was a god/goddess in ancient India.”

Nature and its elements were considered representatives female, and were revered as forms of Mother Nature. Archaeologists have found a figurine with female forms, which was most likely worshiped as the main goddess. People ancient india continued to worship the female form until the Aryans invaded the river valley indus. They introduced a patriarchal form of worship and idolatry became fashionable. However, with the advent of Hinduism and mixed racial marriages, the Aryans began to return to the worship of the ancient goddesses.

Time passed, formed Veda and other important scriptures, and people began to worship many other gods and goddesses. It is estimated that 3,000 gods and goddesses were worshiped during the Vedic period! was the king of all gods Indra, capable of destroying cities with rain and thunder. The creator was known as Brahma, the keeper - Vishnu, and the destroyer was known as Shiva. The Sun God was also very respected. The spirit world and beliefs were also revived and people began to believe in evil and good spirits.

The myth of the millions of gods and goddesses of India confuses not only foreigners trying to understand Indian religious philosophy, but sometimes even not very knowledgeable Indians. The so-called gods and goddesses are nothing but different manifestations of the omnipotent and incomprehensible power of the universe. These abstract concepts are based on a rich philosophy with different schools of thought. To understand the gods and goddesses of ancient India, one must be familiar with the religious philosophy and teachings of the various schools of religious thought.

The Concept of God in Ancient India

In Indian religious beliefs, which are often called "Hinduism", the almighty God is defined as an entity that permeates everything (existing everywhere), omnipotent, eternal, beyond human understanding.

This general concept for the almighty God, regardless of the name that people call him when they pray to him, regardless of the form in which they imagine him, regardless of the path they follow to become closer to him.

Various schools of Indian philosophy of the Divine

The concept of God in this philosophy is also the result of the understanding and analysis of many of the great philosophers of those times, and thus it is more an indication and admission of ignorance rather than an assertion of superiority. Other important aspect This philosophy is the fact that there are different schools of philosophical thought, all of which are equally respected and recognized, even if the teaching of one of them may be more acceptable than that of another.

One school of philosophy sees God as omnipresent, and part of everything. Thus, God as a creator is no different from his creation. In this philosophy (Advaitavad), the universe is part of God, but not God. Each human soul (atma) has a temporary existence, and its final destiny is to unite with the rest, that is, with God (parmatma), this process is called "moksha" or "nirvana".

There is a slightly different school of thought (vishishta advaitavad), in which the creator is separated from the creation, but becomes it after nirvana.

Gods and Goddesses

Having realized the concept of God, it is equally important to understand the concept of Saakar and Niraakar.

Devotees follow two forms of perception of God to worship him. One of them is focusing on God without any form (nirakar bhakti) - where God is perceived as an all-pervading, powerful and omnipotent entity. The other is the worship of God in human form (sakar bhakti), a method that has become more and more popular over the centuries because of the ease with which a revered entity can be discussed with a large mass of people.

At different times, in different places, God began to be worshiped in various forms, in the midst of the realization that this is only a form that changes, but the essence remains unchanged. Thus, even though God is the same, he is known and called by many names, his various forms are worshipped, and he is depicted as different entities.

Trimurti

The three main forms of God in the Hindu tradition are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Together they form the Puranic triad of deities called Trimurti. Among them, Brahma least respected. There are very few temples dedicated to him. It is said that Brahma fell in love with his own creation, and therefore broke the code of conduct.
Vishnu revered in his original form, as well as in his nine incarnations - the avatars or mortal forms in which he came to Earth. Shiva just as revered, although his incarnations are not as strong. He, too, is depicted in many different forms and poses.

Nature as a deity in Hinduism

Agni

In the earliest phase of civilization, Agni or fire was the most revered among the deities. No wonder, because the fire for ancient man was of great importance. More important in this regard were social customs. In Indian society, there is a tradition of Yagna, or sacred design. Every important action taken by members of the community or neighbors was considered a sacred project, as well as a fruit of labor that people enjoyed in common when they sat around the fire in the evening, prepared food, said prayers, thanking God and nature for helping them in their activities.

Indra

Indra is considered the god of showers. Given the importance of rain in success Agriculture, as well as its destructive power, from which many states of India may suffer even today, it is obvious that for ancient people, rains were a matter of life and death. In India, about 90% of the precipitation falls during the three months of the monsoon. A delay of a few weeks can cause havoc in people's lives. Thus, Indra is the most important of the deities, considered the king of the deities. The earliest religious text places him at the top, but that does not make him infallible. In fact, he is also described as having character weaknesses that he had to suffer for.

Vayu from the air is another deity considered sacred in ancient Indian literature and was worshiped as a deity. This air god is considered to be benevolent, and known to a very large extent as the father of Hanuman, the friend of Lord Rama in the epic story of the Ramayana, is considered the incarnation of the god and is widely revered in India today.

Varun

Varun or water is also considered a deity and revered. But he is considered less important than Indra, who controls the rains. So, it becomes clear that the ancient Indians were more worried about rains than lakes and rivers.

Ganesha

Ganesha is recognizable due to the elephant's head and human body. He is the patron saint of writers, travelers, students, businessmen, he loves sweets quite strongly, which causes little damage to his figure.

These are just a few examples of very important Hindu gods, regarded at various times by various sects as the most important deities.

The Vedas say that the gods fought with demons - asuras and defeated them. Also in the ancient scriptures it is said that Indra shared power with the brothers Agni and Surya. In this regard, it is interesting to recall that Zeus shared his father's possessions with Poseidon and Hades ...

Hinduism

Unlike others religious traditions, Hinduism did not occur after the writing of one book or all of a sudden. It contains many different beliefs, traditions, philosophies and points of view that do not always agree with each other. These apparent contradictions only puzzle those unfamiliar with the tradition: the Hindu understanding holds that Unity manifests itself in many different forms.

Hinduism is often called a religion, but it is actually more than that: it is a vast and complex socio-religious order, which thus reflects the complexity of Indian society. Rich geography, many languages ​​and dialects, many different faiths, racial diversity, all these elements have shaped Hinduism and made it so heterogeneous. The absence of a unifying common religious authority and the complete absence of a book asserting higher truth and dogma have also contributed to the diversity of Hinduism.

Many manifestations of Hinduism come from highly intellectual philosophies regarding numerous and mysterious metaphysical problems, many rituals, mental and physical exercises such as yoga, almost childish fairy tales and legends.

This tradition comes from prehistoric times. The foundations of Hinduism can be found in the teachings of unknown ancient sages or rishis which were originally transmitted orally. We know very little about Hinduism beyond what can be gleaned from Vedas, collections of hymns and other ritual texts compiled in different periods. These texts contain much material, including the teachings of the early sages. The oldest evidence of religious practice in India dates back to around 5500 BC. It is a mistake to reduce early Hinduism to a Vedic religion: there were many other non-Vedic religious traditions in early Hinduism of which there is no written evidence left, and which can be corroborated to some extent by archaeological evidence.

Just like Zoroastrianism and Judaism (two other major world religions that also came from prehistoric times), Hinduism has suffered numerous blows that threatened its foundations, but has withstood them. The foundation of Hinduism was struck, sometimes even broken, by many sects, movements and systems of thought: it retreated for a while to come back stronger than before.

In this topic we will talk about Indian deities.

India is a country in which many religions and thousands of Gods exist and coexist peacefully. Almost every village has its own patron. The names of some Gods are known only to historians and ethnographers.

Others are so widespread that in the shop you will often see figurines for sale, which people buy and use as talismans. By the way, they can be not only picturesque figurines, but figures that influence our lives if used correctly. Therefore, in this topic we will consider the diversity of the Gods of India.

Gods of India: the variety of ancient deities of Hinduism

Despite the huge divine totality, about 80% of the population professes Hinduism, the name of which is translated as "the eternal path" (according to some sources - law or religion). And this is fully justified, since the direction comes from the Vedic civilization, and its postulates are recorded in the sacred book "Vedas". In addition, the Gods of India found admirers among about 1 billion of the world's population, which put the Indian religion in 3rd place in the ranking.

There is a general division by location:

• the top of the pyramid is headed by the trio of "leaders" of the Indian pantheon, which in general become the basis for everything - this Trimurti;
• but then there is a division on the cardinal points, which need supports and rods to protect the deity - Lokopas;
• come from them common Indian gods;
• also occupy a significant step Vedic deities;
• and there is a group avatars of Vishnu. Perhaps they were taken as the basis of the film by James Cameron.

Of course, we can't cover all of them. But we will certainly study the most important ones. Let's start, of course, from the top three.

The Many Faced God of Creation - Brahma

• He personifies the triad of the main deities and acts as the creator of everything earthly. There are several versions of its origin.
  • According to the first legend, Brahma is of cosmic origin and originated in the primeval ocean from a floating golden egg. And its remnants, after being born, stretched throughout the universe, and creating it in this way.
  • Another legend ascribes to him the appearance of the Lotus flower, which also has a connection with water. Because of this connection of water origin, it is also called "Kanja", which translates as "born in water."
  • But there is another connection - this is the connection with Vishnu (we will return to it below). According to the first version, he put the name into these primeval waters, and according to the second theory, the deity grew out of his navel. True, at the initial stages of the formation of the Universe.
• The appearance of Brahma is wildly peculiar - he has 4 of all the important parts of the body - or rather, hands and faces, but only two legs. Often such a number is tied to a close connection between the main cardinal points in order to observe everything. According to the second version, this is a reflection of the fundamental parts of the Veda. But it also speaks to the basis of a person - the mind, reason, ego and self-confidence.
• His outfits are bright, colorful and red, as is often characteristic of the Indian people, with many golden additions. In general, gold emphasizes the importance or participation in the creation of the universe.
  • As additional attributes, we can see a rosary (material substances), a book (of course, knowledge) and a beard, which is a symbol of wisdom. By the way, a crown is depicted on all heads as a talisman of supremacy. He also often sits on a lotus or swan.

The overarching supreme deity or guardian of Vishnu

• This is a powerful and formidable guardian of the universe. A very important person among the honorary trio, because he also plays a fundamental role. Moreover, even the root of his name sounds like “fill”.
• He was born in the water, which is his abode. There is a close connection with Brahma, because he grew out of the navel, which is the lotus of this deity. But Vishnu is also the harmony of the world in the fight against evil. This life cycle from the scorching sun to the pouring rain. Although there are some suggestions that he used to occupy a secondary stage.
• He is depicted in blue, blue or black colors, with four arms, which means the four cardinal points, that is, undivided power. At the same time, he holds in his hands a blessing shell, a protective chakra of supreme power, a symbolic lotus and a weapon in the form of a mace.
• It is his form that fills the world with many different forces in the form of avatars to protect all living things. Therefore, it has 1000 names. By the way, when he ascends to earth, he is called an avatar in the form of an earthly or animal form. In general, Vishnu has 10 transformations:
  • Matsya - in the form of a fish;
  • Varaha is a wild boar;
  • Vamana is a dwarf;
  • Kurma - in the form of a turtle;
  • Parasurama descends in the guise of a man with an ax, which is the hero of the epic Ramayana - Rama;
  • there is also a lion-man - Narasimha;
  • the legendary dashavatar Krishna, who is also worshiped as an independent deity;
  • The Buddha is also included in this list, being the founder of Buddhism;
  • and last on the list is the avatar of the future, Kalki.

The third highest deity of the entire cycle is Shiva

• The original name was Rudra. It is also the supreme God who keeps order in the universe. He is formidable and merciful at the same time, destroying human illusions and giving hope for patronage. It is the two-faced face of creation and destruction. By the way, it is Shiva who acts as the creator of the other two gods of the triad.
• Shiva is often depicted sitting in a lotus position with pale skin, but with a blue tint. The hair is twisted into a pyramidal bun. Quite often, a smoking pipe, a jug with the nectar of immortality, and other ritual objects are depicted in his hands. You can also meet a dancing deity.
• He has four arms and three eyes, one of which is located in the center of his forehead. It has a fiery gaze that makes everyone it turns to tremble. But thousands of years ago it was depicted as a three-headed creature. By the way, he is often illustrated as a hermaphrodite and often has a body divided in half by gender.
• Serpents act as necklaces and bracelets, and a tiger or elephant skin is thrown over his shoulders. To emphasize your power, you can often see a Trishul or a trident in your hands.

Controversial incarnation

But no less famous and interesting are minor deities.

Giving existence and knowledge - Saraswati

• She is the wife of Brahma, who provided him with support and assistance in the creation of the world. Previously mentioned in hymns as the Goddess of the River, she was a protective figure and healer. Now knowledge, music and art are in her power. It is usually illustrated by a marvelous beauty in a white and gilded sari, who sits on a light swan or in a lotus. She often holds a sitar in her hands, which gives her the power of knowing each sound.

Not only spiritual, but also external beauty

The embodiment of grace, femininity and beauty - Lakshmi

• She is the wife of the second important deity Vishnu. It is believed that she accompanied him in all incarnations, complementing his creations in the fight against evil. After all, he acts as a deity of happiness, light and good luck, as well as wealth and prosperity. A fairly well-known person who is often used in a symbolic image. The famous Indian festival of light, Diwali, during which thousands of lanterns are lit, is held in honor of Lakshmi.
• She is dressed in a traditional red sari and adorned with lots of gold. In addition, in 4 hands, in addition to the lotus, you can see pots of gold and coins. Thus, she shares prosperity. But this very beautiful and prominent woman also increases fertility and fertility.

Many-faced wife of Shiva

• Davy - the great Goddess, blessing and cruel, personifying a high female power, "containing the whole world in her bosom." He has many forms, since the husband also combined contradictory facets, and also has many names - Tara (Goddess of wisdom), Radha (beloved of Krishna), Pithivi (Goddess of the earth) and others.
  • Most Popular Hindu Woman Durga. This is one of the forms of Shiva's wife. Despite her mesmerizing dance of 8-10 (and sometimes more hands), she has a rather formidable character. Although such a disposition is necessary to establish order and peace. It also personifies the cult of the Mother Goddess, uniting and destroying the creative forces of nature. She is seated on a lion or tiger with a weapon of vengeance in her hands.
  • Reborn consort Parvati. This is one of the wives of Shiva. According to legend, the first wife of Shiva, Satti, was reborn in her image, who committed self-immolation. Shown as beautiful woman with the usual number of limbs. It is considered an auspicious form of Devi.

Elephant head on a human form, which gave tremendous popularity - Ganesha

• He is considered the God of wisdom, the patron of sciences and arts. He is known not only in India, but in his native territory is very revered. And before you start reading or writing something, they always ask for help or even advice. This is the son of Shiva and the good form of his wife Parvati. Moreover, near their child there are very interesting theories about the very origin and appearance of such a look.
  • One of the most popular versions is that his father deprived him of his head when the baby did not let him into his wife's chambers. But in order to calm his wife, he created an elephant's head for him.
• He is depicted in red and yellow, with one tusk missing. May have many hands depending on the image. After all, he is sometimes drawn in the form of a rat or a dog. But you and I are used to decorating our desktop with elephant figurines with a human body, providing inspiration, success and good earnings.

A peculiar young man as the fruit of love, and for love - Kama

• The son of a protective deity and his wife, who acts like Cupid, giving love to others. In addition, rituals are held in his honor to improve health and increase attractiveness. Has a pronounced green color skin (but not always), and he acts as a rider in a brightly colored parrot. In the hands of a reed bow and arrows of flowers. Bees can curl around, which personifies passion.

Eastern side of divine India - Indra

• This is the overlord heavenly kingdom and all the gods, but later gave way to the leading trio. He also, like Zeus, acts as the patron of thunder, rain and lightning, so he has the corresponding symbol in the image in his hand. Keeps the east side of the world.

Protector of the Southwest - Agni

• Its name suggests another characteristic feature, like fire. So it is - this is his patron. At the same time, he, like Prometheus, acts as an intermediary between the Gods and people. Depicted in a symbolic red robe, while having 6 eyes on two heads and 7 arms on one body. Often illustrated with fire and smoke.

Guardian of the North - Kubera

• An important person, because it personifies wealth. He comprehended self-discipline and self-purification, therefore he is often depicted with a stern face. Despite the cold stay, he is depicted with a yellow-golden complexion on a white noble lion. A diadem with multi-colored stones shines on her head, and earrings shine in her ears.

There is also a god of hell in India with a suitable name - Yama

• In parallel, it is also the God of death and justice. Therefore, he controls sinners in Purgatory until the next reincarnation. It is considered the discoverer of the road to the afterlife. Despite the ferocious nature, guards the warm side of the world. Depicted in various shades of blue on a black buffalo. Often has 4 hands, one necessarily holds a mace, and the second - a lasso for catching sinners.

Hanuman - Monkey God

• He patronizes these animals, which is why they are considered sacred in India. He is usually depicted in full growth, or in a monkey pose, with a golden crown on his head. He is highly revered in village cultures and personified as a mentor in the sciences.

Guardian of the WestVaruna

• This is God the judge of an omniscient and punitive nature. It belongs to the great pantheon. It is a divine protector from sins and injustice. Moreover, according to legend, he finds the guilty, punishes them, and then releases them. He has a varuna as a mount, which corresponds to the name, and holds a snake lasso in his hand.

Hindus of all directions strive for unity with God, reverence for all life on earth, through the awareness of the unity of being and the desire for peace. “Whatever the temple, then faith” - they say in India and it’s completely normal for anyone to believe in their God, can create their own sect or even their own religion. Or start preaching a faith no one has heard of before.

Video: Indian deities and mythology

Vishnu. Guardian of the universe. Maintains balance in the world, not allowing militant Shiva to destroy everything around.

Lakshmi. Goddess of abundance, prosperity, wealth, good luck and happiness. Her admirers, according to legend, will be protected from all misfortunes and poverty. The elder wife of Vishnu

God Indra and Goddess Sachi

Indra. God of thunder and lightning. The main assistant of Vishnu in the fight against chaos. IN right hand usually holds a vajra (lightning bolt), which smashes enemies and revives the dead for battle.

Shachi. Wife of Indra. Goddess of jealousy and anger. The standard of beauty for all Indian women.

Gods Varuna and Vayu

Varuna. Keeper of truth and justice, chief judge among the gods. And also the lord of the world's waters. Brother of Indra.

Vayu. God of the wind, accompanies Indra in battle. Can dispel enemies and provide shelter to allies.

Gods Brahma and Agni

Shiva. The destroyer, the personification of the masculine. According to legend, he has five faces, as well as four, eight, or even ten hands, so that he can cope with all the affairs of the universe.

Parvati. The rebirth of the first wife of Shiva - Sati. The embodiment of the female creative energy of Shiva. The goddess has many names.

Gods Ganesh and Skanda

Bhagavati. Rural incarnation of Parvati. It differs in a wayward character, capable of sending misfortunes, illnesses.

It is said that there are millions of Gods in India. It is also said that polytheism flourishes in India.
"disagreeing with both ..... Take everything and share it." I will tell briefly what I know about the Indian Gods.

Let's start with the fact that the Indian Gods represent different aspects of a single reality - Brahman. The Upanishads say: Sarvam khalvida Brahma - everything is Brahman. Each of the aspects of Brahman as absolute and universal reality can be endowed in an anthropomorphic way, some of which we can see in Indian and Nepalese temples, or may not be endowed, or depicted as or even God.
In addition, the Indian Gods existed in time - their cults arose and fell into decay. So, relatively speaking, there are no some Gods, because they have been forgotten, they are not worshiped, and their names have been erased by time.

So all the others I know

Gods of India

can be divided (conditionally) into 4 categories:

1. Vedic Gods personifying the world and natural elements,

2. following them in time Gods of Hinduism - Mahadevas , whose cults flourish in modern India, and deities close to them;

3. avatars and incarnations Mahadev, that is, the "descent" of the Gods

4. devata - local deities , who are usually either identified with the main Hindu Gods, exchanging some of their functions and qualities with them, or have retained autonomy and are worshiped only in certain settlements.
The cults of local gods are especially common in northern India, the valley is even called for this reason "the valley of a thousand gods", each village has its own, and sometimes more than one deity.
In southern India, on the contrary, local deities assimilated with the Hindu Gods, leaving behind only names and some of the properties, as, for example, Shiva in Madurai appears as the husband of the Dravidian Goddess Meenakshi ("with the eyes of a fish") in the form of Sundar ("beautiful").

To the Gods mentioned in the Vedas

include: Brama and who are worshiped in India now, and which will be discussed below, as well as:
thunderer Indra, the king of the Gods, who is subject to heaven and lightning, he is usually depicted riding an elephant.
before Indra, the king of the Gods was Varuna - the god of waters and seas (comparable to the Slavic Perun), whom Indra gradually replaced him from the heavenly pedestal.
God of fire Yagni, he is always shrouded in flames.

Vayu is the god of the wind.
Surya - the god of the Sun, whose cult was very widespread, in India there are still several temples of the Sun;
Soma is the god of the moon and the cult intoxicating drink of the same name, which every Brahmin who read the Vedas had to take. In India there is a temple dedicated to Soma - later Soma
Yama is the god of death and the underworld.
Rudra is a formidable, violent Deity, dressed in a skin, who nevertheless was the protector of people and animals. Rudra later transformed into the Hindu Shiva.
And many others.
It should be noted that the Gods have wives, personifying their creative religion, energy and power, I will write about them separately.

Gods of Hinduism

In India, there are 3 main Gods - MahaDeva, which means "Great God" - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, who symbolize creation, maintenance (preservation) and destruction, respectively.

The creator Brahma is also called in the Vedic literature and the Upanishads Svayambhu (translated from Sanskrit as self-existing, self-created), Hiranya garhba (translated as a golden germ, go seed, egg). Brahma created both the world and the Vedas, while the cult of Brahma is not very popular in India, I know of only one temple dedicated to Brahma, in Pushkar. At the same time, Brahma occupies a significant place in cosmology, because it is the days and years of Brahma that changes the universe and everything that exists. Brahma lives for 100 divine years, every day creating a world that lives only for 1 day - kalpa, equal to 8,640,000,000 earth years, kalpa is followed by pralaya - destruction, and then again the creation of a new world.

Brahma is depicted on many Indian temples and is easy to recognize - he has a beard, a neat wedge-shaped beard. Brahma has 4 faces, 4 hands, in which he holds a vessel for water, a rosary, a bunch of grass and Veda. Brahma is often depicted sitting on a lotus or a swan.

Guardian God Vishnu- one of the most popular Gods of India, whose fans form one of the branches of Hinduism - Vaishnava.
Vishnu is usually depicted sitting on his vahana, the bird Garuda, or reclining on the serpent Shesha, resting in the ocean of eternity.
Vishnu has 1 face and 4 or more arms. In his hands he holds a wheel, a wand, a lotus and a conch or a couple of such objects.
Vishnu is represented in the mythology and iconography of India not only as an independent Deity, but also in the form of 10 of his manifestations - avatars, that is, descended to earth and lived their lives in physical form to solve the task assigned to him to maintain the balance of the universe.

Avatars of Vishnu: Matsya - a fish, Kurma - a turtle, Varaha - a wild boar, - a lion-man, Vamana - a dwarf, Parasurama - a man with an ax, the hero of the epic - Rama, the legendary avatar, which is also worshiped as an independent deity, the ninth avatar of Vishnu - , the founder of Buddhism, and the tenth avatar of Kalki - the avatar of the future.

Destroyer Shiva is the second of the most significant Mahadevas - the main Gods of India, and his worshipers - Shaivites form the second largest branch of Hinduism.
Shiva is usually depicted sitting on a tiger skin or on his vakhana - a bull. Shiva usually has 1 face and 4 or more hands, in which he holds a shrishula trident, a damaru drum, in other hands sometimes a spear, a skull bowl, a deer, sometimes Shiva's hand is in a blessing or guarding gesture - varada or abhinaya mudra.
Shiva has long locks of tangled hair, often gathered at the crown of his head, into which a sickle of the moon is stuck, a great one flows from his hair. The neck, arms and legs are entwined with cobras, Shiva also wears ritual rudraksha beads around his neck, sometimes holding them in his hand. Shiva has a third eye - the eye of secret knowledge, but it is also the eye, from the look of which it is destroyed. Shiva is usually dressed in a skin or a skin wrapped around his thighs, he is the patron of yoga and yogis, and in general mystical knowledge.
The main visible image of Shiva and his cult is the phallic symbol of the lingam, while in the world Shiva appeared at least 12 times in the form of a lingam - an uncreated lingam - jyotirlingam in 12 places sacred to Shaivites, where especially revered temples were built.

Shiva has no avatars, but his cult included such Gods of the Vedas as Soma, Rudra, and Yama, who is identified with one of the incarnations of Shiva - Mahakala (great time).
Despite the lack of avatars, Shiva has many incarnations, he will appear in the form of a father and protector of living beings, and in the form of a terrible Bhairava, and with many other faces visible to those who address him.
Also, Shiva sometimes comes to people to check their purity and compassion in the form of an old garden man or, because Shiva is first of all a Benefactor, so do not miss the opportunity to feed these creatures, suddenly it was Shiva who looked at you;)
One of the most revered incarnations of Shiva in India is the monkey king Hanuman from the epic Ramayana.

Shiva and Parvati have two sons - the favorite of the people of India, the elephant-faced God Ganesha and Murugan. Ganesha is depicted riding or accompanied with his vahana - a mouse, Gashena - the God of abundance, wealth, wisdom, he also removes obstacles. The cult of Murugan, his other names Kartikeya and Kumar are distributed mainly in southern India, this is a virgin God, he is a symbol of purity, he helps people on the paths of spiritual development and. Murugan is depicted as riding a peacock, in his hand is a spear - vel.

In India, the number of gods is huge and each of them has its own specific niche. Among them, three main rulers stand out in particular: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. They are part of the Trimurti (Hindu trinity) as creator, omnipotent and destroyer.

Hindu supreme god Brahma

In India, he is considered the creator of the world. He has neither mother nor father, and he was born from a lotus flower, which was in the navel of Vishnu. Brahma created sages who are directly involved in the creation of the universe. He also created 11 Prajapatis, who are the progenitors of mankind. Brahma is depicted as a man with four heads, faces and hands. The king of the gods among the Hindus has red skin and is dressed in the same color of clothes. There is information that each of the heads of Brahma constantly tells one of the four Vedas. TO characteristic features can be attributed to a white beard, symbolizing the eternal nature of his existence. It also has its own attributes:

• scepter in the form of a scoop;
• a vessel with water, which is made either of metal or of;
• prayer beads;
• Vedic books or lotus flower.

Hindu God Vishnu

He was represented as a man with blue skin and four arms. This god has a crown on his head, and in his hands are attributes of great importance: a shell, a chakra, a wand and a lotus. On the neck is a sacred stone. Vishnu moves on an Eagle with a half-human face. He was revered as a deity supporting life in the universe. This four-armed god of the Hindus has a huge number of positive qualities, among which are: knowledge, wealth, power, strength, courage and magnificence. There are three main forms of Vishnu:

Great Hindu God Shiva

He is the personification of destruction and transformation. His skin is white, but his neck is blue. There is a tangled tuft of hair on the head. The head, arms and legs are decorated with snakes. He wears the skin of a tiger or an elephant. On his forehead is a third eye and a tripunda of sacred ash. He was depicted mainly sitting in the lotus position. In Shaivism, the many-armed god of the Hindus is considered supreme, while in other directions he is considered only the ability of the destroyer. It is believed that it was Shiva who created the famous sound "Om".