As Vedas are the most ancient texts of the Hindus, it would be right to know what they have to say about the number of Gods in Hinduism. In fact, the Rig Veda throws light on the number of Gods in Hinduism. However, the Rig Veda increases this number to thirty-three 33 , of which 11 are said to be on Earth, 11 in mid-air, and 11 in heaven.
So, it goes beyond doubt that there are 33 Gods in the Hindu Religion. The Vedas themselves are the testimony of this fact. Moreover, it is mentioned many times in Vedas. The Hindus recognize that the eight 8 Vasus are the attendant deities of Indra. They are referred to as the eight elemental Gods, also known as Astha Vasus Eight Vasus , that go on to signify the different aspects of nature and represent cosmic natural phenomenon.
Ramayan has a mention to these eight Vasus as the children of Kashyap and Aditi. Once it so happened that the wife of Prabhasa Vasu persuaded her husband to get her the cow which actually belonged to Rishi Vashishta. Prabhasa initially refused to ask for anything from a Brahmin. However, he was led by his wife and later agreed to steal the cow for her.
Prabhasa took the help of his seven brothers and together with the eight Vasus purloined away Vashishta cow for Prabhasa wife. Rishi Vashishta used his ascetic powers and came to know that the cow has been stolen away by the eight Vasus.
He cursed that the eight Vasus would be born on Earth as mortals and suffers the pain as all mortals do. The eight Vasus begged for pardon and pleaded Rishi Vashishta to take back the curse. However, Rishi Vashishta told them that his words would come true and the curse could not be taken back. However, he told that the best he can do for them is to modify the curse. Rishi Vashishta granted some relief to the seven Vasus and told them that their lifetime on earth would be short and after that they can ascend to the paradise.
However, Prabhasa who initiated the steal on behalf of his wife would suffer the pain on account of all the seven Vasus. He will never know the pleasure of a woman. Nataraja Dancing Lord Shiva Lord Shiva as Hindu god Nataraja represents the apocalypse and creation as he dances away the illusory world of Maya, transforming it into power and enlightenment. Click to learn more about Nataraja. Lord Krishna is worshipped as the eighth incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu.
Click to learn more about Krishna. Devi Parvati is known as "daughter of the mountain". Click to learn more about Parvati. Hanuman Monkey God The Hindu God Hanuman is the monkey deity renowned for his courage, power, and faithful selfless service. He is the divine companion of the god Rama.
Click to learn more about Hanuman. Click to learn more about Lakshmi. Saraswati Goddess of Wisdom Saraswati, goddess of knowledge and the arts, embodies the wisdom of Devi. She is the river of consciousness that enlivens creation. He is typically depicted riding a mouse, who assists the deity in removing barriers to success, whatever the endeavor.
Shiva represents death and dissolution, destroying worlds so they may be recreated by Brahma. But he is also considered the master of dance and of regeneration. When he is not represented in his blue-skinned human form, Shiva is often depicted as a phallic symbol called the Shiva Lingam. One of the most beloved of Hindu gods, blue-skinned Krishna is the deity of love and compassion. He is frequently depicted with a flute, which he uses for its seductive powers. Krishna is the central character in the Hindu scripture "Bhagavad Gita" as well as an avatar of Vishnu, the sustainer of the Hindu Trinity.
Krishna is widely revered among Hindus, and his followers are known as Vaishnavas. He is considered the perfect embodiment of humankind: mentally, spiritually, and physically.
Unlike other Hindu gods and goddesses, Rama is widely believed to be an actual historical figure whose exploits form the great Hindu epic "Ramayana. Monkey-faced Hanuman is worshiped as a symbol of physical strength, perseverance, service, and scholarly devotion.
This divine primate aided Lord Rama in his battle against evil forces, described in the epic ancient Indian poem "Ramayana. The peace-loving deity of the Hindu Trinity, Vishnu is the preserver or sustainer of life.
He represents the principles of order, righteousness, and truth. His consort is Lakshmi, the goddess of domesticity and prosperity. In the West, where the mass majority of people are part of the Abrahamic faith tradition with one God, the concept of polytheism is nothing more than fantasy or mythology worthy of comic book material.
The interesting thing is that one culture can see this as fiction while most Hindus, without a second thought, can walk into a temple with multiple deities, bow down and offer prayer and worship with devotion treating that deity as much like a person as you and me. The Bhakti tradition offers an explanation for this complicated theology of millions of gods.
I find this explanation quite satisfying. For a country, state, or city to run properly, the government creates various departments and employs individuals within those departments -- teachers, postal workers, police and military personnel, construction works, doctors, politicians, and so many more. Each of these departments employs hundreds or thousands of individuals carrying out their respective duties and each sector has an individual or multiple individuals that oversees the activities of that one unit.
Each head of an area is endowed with certain privileges and powers which facilitates them in their tasks. It's safe to say that the number of individuals working for the United States government goes into the millions. This is just to keep one country working. Multiply that by all the countries on the planet, which is around , and all the people working for these governments, the total would easily come out to tens of millions of people employed by the various governments of the world to run one planet.
The way it's explained is that in order to keep the universe running, Krishna, the supreme being, has put into place individuals that oversee different parts of the material universe. These individuals are powerful beings that have been appointed by Krishna and have been bestowed with the necessary powers and abilities to manage and govern their area of creation.
They can be referred to as demigods. For example, there is someone responsible for the sun and his name is Surya. The goddess Saraswati is the overseer of knowledge. The creator of the material universe is known as Brahma. The destruction of the universe is overseen by Shiva and Vishnu serves as the maintainer.
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