Indian God Brahma

Brahma is considered the creator of the universe. Before the cosmos existed, Brahma was all alone, self contained and self-content. Eventually, he felt inadequate and longed for company. Brahma split himself and created the goddess Shatarupa. Her many forms captivated Brahma, and he desired to posses her.

But that was not to be. Like all material things, Shatarupa would turn into something else every time Brahma got to her. She turned into a cow, a mare, a goose and a doe. Lord Brahma kept pursuing her, taking the form of the corresponding male - a bull, a horse, a gander, a buck. Thus all creatures of the cosmos, from the smallest insect to the largest mammal, came into being.

The Hindu God Brahma sprouted five heads, so that he could watch Shatarupa at all times. To restrain Brahma's lust, Shivawrenched off one of Brahma's five heads. This helped Brahma come to his senses, and he took Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, as his consort. With her help, he regained control of his mind.

For creating the universe, Brahma became known as the lord of progeny. But he is not worshipped because he is responsible for distracting the mind away from the soul and towards the cravings of the flesh. However, you will see shrines dedicated to Brahma on the grounds of buildings. A very famous shrine is on the grounds of the Erawan Hotel in Bangkok, and people to make offerings to Brahma there, such as hiring musicians and dancers to perform for him.

Brahma the Trouble Maker

From time to time in religious texts, Lord Brahma appears to aid the side of chaos. In the Mahabharata, for example, Brahma provides a magic arrow to the enemies of Arjuna. It then seems that the Hindu Gods spend a significant amount of time helping to defeat those who have benefited from Brahma's misdeeds, as opposed to fighting the God Brahma himself. On the other hand, usually when Brahma helps an adversary, the heroes learn an important lesson, or make a realization that they wouldn't have if Lord Brahma had not meddled in the first place.

Brahma Not The Creator of The Universe After All?

One interesting aspect of different creation stories is that sometimes Vishnu or Shiva are given credit for creating the world. It is believed that they dreamed up the creation of the universe, with Brahma doing all the heavy lifting in the dream, as if he were just following the blueprints laid out by the other two gods.

Brahma's Pose and Hand Gestures

Unlike most Hindu Gods Brahma is not depicted with weapons. Instead, he is shown holding prayer beads, a water vase, and a book, symbolizing the Vedas (the original Hindu religious texts). It is said that Brahmas four mouths constantly recite the four Vedas. Brahma's fourth hand is sometimes shown holding a lotus blossom, and sometimes shown holding a staff.

Krishna Shiva

We are very beginning from the birthplace of  lord Krishna. Mathura is the birthplace of lord Krishna. The city of Mathura is located in the western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, in the northern region of India. It is situated on the bank of the river Yamuna. Mathura is 150 km south of Delhi and 50 km northwest of Agra.

Mathura is also knows as Brij Bhoomi - The land where Shri Krishna was born and spent his youth. It is an important pilgrim place of the Hindus and one of the seven sacred cities in India. The main pilgrim center in Mathura is the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple. Krishna is the Supreme Person. Lord Krishna appeared over five thousand years ago in Mathura, India to Devaki and Vasudeva in the jail cell of the tyrant Kansa. The place of His birth is known as Sri Krishna Janmasthana.

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One of the many complexities about the God Shiva is his role as a head of household. According to different sources, he has several wives, with the major Hindu Goddess Parvati being one of them, and the lesser Hindu Goddess Ganga being another. While the majority of stories detailing the Shiva's romantic side deal primarily with his relationship with Parvati, he is also respected for his willingness to throw himself at the feet of another consort, the Goddess Kali in order to stop her blood thirsty rampage of destruction. As for his offspring, One of his sons, Ganesh, is the elephant headed god of success who is recognized and worshipped nearly universally throughout Hindu India. Another son, Skanda, is worshipped primarily in Southern India.

Rama Indian God

Lord Rama
Lord Rama is known as the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Rama, the perfect avatar of the Supreme Protector Vishnu, has always been popular among the Hindu deities. Rama is the symbol of courtesy and virtue, a man of values and morals. Ramachandra is Maryada Purushottama, which means the perfect man. Lord Rama is considered to have taken birth on the earth to destroy the evil forces of the age.

Lord Rama, in the words of Swami Vivekananda, is "the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, and above all, the ideal king". Rama is widely accepted to be an actual historical figure - a "tribal hero of ancient India" - whose deeds form the great Hindu epic of Ramayana or The Romance of Rama, written by the ancient Sanskrit poet Valmiki. According to the Hindus belief, Rama lived in the Treta Yug. Although historians are of the conviction that Rama was not particularly deified until the 11th century AD. Tulsidas' wonderful version of the Sanskrit epic "Ramayana" into "Ramcharitmanas" greatly enhanced the popularity of Rama as a Hindu god and gave rise to various devotional groups. 

Virtues of Rama
Shri Rama was a paragon of virtues. Rama was not only kind and affectionate but generous and considerate of feelings for all around him. Lord Rama had a marvelous physique and captivating manners. Shri Ram had a magnanimous personality. He was extremely noble, generous, chivalrous and fearless. He was very simple and absolutely free from flamboyance.

Lord Rama is considered as a son unequalled in the world, and resembled Dasaratha in each and every aspect of good qualities. He never spoke a lie throughout his life. He always offered respect to the scholars and the elders, people loved him and he adored the people. His body was transcendental and outstanding. He was eloquent, attractive and adjustable to circumstances. He knew the heart of each and every human being on the earth (being omniscient). He had all the conceivable qualities of a king's son and was dear to the people as their own hearts.

Lord Rama was endowed with incredible transcendental qualities. The earth personified adored him, who was possessor of such virtues, who was indomitable, who was brave, and who was the unequalled Lord of all. To put succinctly, Sri Rama's life was a life of holy compliance, of stainless purity, of matchless simplicity, praiseworthy contentment, commendable self-sacrifice and remarkable renunciation. 

Krishna Indian God

As a youth, the cowherd Krishna became renown as a lover, the sound of his flute prompting gopis (wives and daughters of the cowherds) to leave their homes to dance ecstatically with him in the forests.The child Krishna was adored for his mischievous pranks; he also performed many miracles and slew demons.  His favorite among the daughters of the cow herders  was the beautiful Radha.  Krishna's youthful dalliances with the gopis are interpreted as symbolic of the loving interplay between God and the human soul.Krishna affirms life in his pranks, music and lovemaking
e rich variety of legends associated withKrishna's life led to an abundance of representation in painting and sculpture.  The divine lover (the most common representation) is shown playing the flute, surrounded by adoring gopis. 

Arjuna sat dejected, filled with pity, his sad eyes blurred by tears.  Krishna gave him counsel.

Lord Krishna

Why this cowardice in time of crisis, Arjuna?  The coward is ignoble, shameful, foreign to the ways of heaven.

Don't yield to impotence!  It is unnatural in you!  Banish this petty weakness from your heart.  Rise to the fight, Arjuna!

Arjuna

Krishna, how can I fight against Bhishma and Drona with arrows when they deserve my worship?  It is better in this world to beg for scraps of food than to eat meals smeared with the blood of elders I killed at the height of their power while their goals were still desires.

Krishna and the Serpent Kaliya Lord Krishna came to know that a very large and poisonous serpent had made its home in a lagoon on the Yamuna river. Because the serpent was so poisonous, not only all the fish died, but even the trees and grass surrounding the lake were dying. When birds flew over the area, they immediately dropped dead and fell into the lake, due to the highly poisonous vapors emanating from the water. In that time, there were many frightful demons, who had all kinds of mystic powers. Lord Krishna had specifically appeared to rid the world of all these disturbing elements. The Lord came to this place with His cowherd boyfriends and decided to confront the king of the snakes. He climbed the large Kadamba tree and from there, jumped into the poisonous waters of the Yamuna.

Lord Krishna then began splashing about and making very loud noises just to disturb the Kaliya serpent. Sure enough, the Kaliya snake came up to the surface to see who was attacking his home. This huge black serpent Kaliya (Kaliya means black) possessed over one hundred hoods, each bedecked with a precious gem. When he breathed, fire emanated from his nostrils. He suddenly seized Krishna in his powerful coils, and bound the Lord as tightly as possible. But unfortunately this serpent did not realize that within its coils was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, playing as a child and enjoying His earthly pastimes in the transcendental land of Vrindavana. Without warning, Krishna, the Supreme Mystic, started to expand His body, and Kaliya, who began to feel the incredible pressure, was forced to release the Lord from his deadly coils. Krishna then jumped on to the hoods of the great serpent and started to dance, stamping His foot down on the heads of the snake demon, Kaliya.

This stamping of Krishna, felt to Kaliya serpent like Indra's thunderbolt striking a mountain. The Lord jumped from one hood to another, and Kaliyafelt helpless and bewildered; in anger he spat fire from his many mouths but the Lord was so dexterous that His dancing movements caused the-snake to become dizzy. After so many kicks from the Lord, Kaliya started to first vomit blood, and then refuse, before becoming almost unconscious. At that time, the many wives of the Kaliya serpent appeared and begged the Lord with folded hands to spare their husband. Krishnadecided to banish Kaliya to the great ocean never to return again. Thereafter, the giant snake along with his wives, departed forever, and the transcendental Lord re-joined His cowherd boyfriends on the bank of the Yamuna, to continue their wonderful pastimes in the land of Vrindavana.

Indian God Vishnu

According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu is a member of a cosmic triad, the three gods who have the responsibility for creating, maintaining and destroying the universe. The destroyer we have already discovered in the figure of Shiva. The cosmic creator is Brahma. The god who sustains the cosmos between the times of creation and destruction is Vishnu.

Vishnu and Shiva are each at the center of a vast religious following among Hindus. The religion of Vishnu is known as Vaishnavism, and it is the most popular Hindu religion. Brahma, on the other hand, does not have a significant following. Do not confuse Brahma, the personal creator god, with Brahman, the Upanishadic term for the absolute reality that is beyond conception.
Vishnu was a deva in the Vedic period, but he was not specially prominent. The Vedas referred to him as the younger brother of Indra, and called him the three-stepper. Other sources relate the story of how Vishnu acquired this epithet. Bali, a demon king, invited the gods to a great sacrifice in their honor. Bali offered to fulfill any wish of each of his divine guests.

Vishnu, who appeared only as a dwarf, asked only be given as much land as he could take with three steps. Bali reluctantly agreed. Vishnu suddenly grew to immense proportions. His first step covered the earth. The second step reached the sun. According to the story, there was no space left for a third step. Bali then lowered his head in acknowledgement of Vishnu’s superiority.

In iconography, Vishnu is identified by the symbolic attributes he carries in each hand. In one hand he has a conch shell or Shankha, which represents his power to create and maintain the universe. In another, a sharp-spinning discus-like weapon, signifying the purified spiritualized mind. In a third he has a mace or Gada, which symbolizes Vishnu's divine power. In the fourth he holds a lotus flower or Padma, which represents represents spiritual liberation and divine perfection.

Vishnu’s Avataras

Vishnu’s most salient feature is his avataras or incarnations. The word avatara literally means to descend into. According to Vaishnava mythology, the god descends to earth and assumes an earthly manifestation at critical junctures in the world’s history. Tradition maintains that Vishnu has done this nine times in this era, and would do so again before the end.

Vishnu’s previous avataras include a boar, who carried the earth out of the primordial waters; a fish, that rescued the first human named Manu in the Hindu flood story; a turtle, a dwarf and a man-lion. He also appeared as the Buddha in his 9th incarnation. Thus the Buddha, the sage and teacher of Buddhism, has become incorporated into the Hindu pantheon.

Finally, in his tenth avatara Vishnu will return at the end of the age as Kalki, a horse-riding apocalyptic judge.

From the standpoint of religious practice, Vishnus’s most important avataras have been Krishna and Rama. Both figures are widely revered among Hindus. As Rama, Vishnu appeared on earth as a royal figure who defeats his wife’s abductor in the great epic the Ramayana. Rama is regarded as a great example of moral conduct and his marriage to Sita is appalled as the Hindu ideal.

Ganesh Indian God

Ganesh is the Hindu God of knowledge and the remover of obstacles or God of elimination of troubles. He is also called Ganapati (leader of people), Buddhividhata ( god of knowledge ), or Vighnahara (god to remove obstacles). In fact Lord Ganesh has at least 108 names. He is one the most important Gods in the Hindu religion so that all sacrifices and religious ceremonies, all serious compositions in writing, and all worldly affairs of importance are begun with an invocation to Lord Ganesh.

Ganesh is usually depicted as an elephant head figure with a large pot belly. He has four hands with one hand always extended to bless people. Like most other Hindu gods, he has a ‘vehicle’, in his case a rat: this rat is usually shown at the foot of the god, but sometimes Ganesh is astride the rat. This unique combination of his elephant-like head and a quick moving rat vehicle represents tremendous wisdom, intellegence, and presence of mind.

There are a number of stories about how Ganesh came to acquire an elephant head. Here is the most popular:

Parvati was rather disappointed that none of the guards she appointed out of Lord Shiva's army failed to stop him from barging into her private chambers. She decided to have someone who would be entirely her own and place no one above her. Hence, she created Lord Ganesh from dough that she used for her bath and breathed life into him. Having created the figure, Parvati told him to ensure that nobody, but nobody entered her rooms while she bathed.

Lord Shiva soon came in and was stopped by Lord Ganesh. This enraged Lord Shiva and he beheaded the boy. This enraged Parvati to such an extent that she asked Goddess Durga & Goddess Kali to destroy everything and everyone. To appease her, Lord Shiva beheaded an elephant and attached the head to Lord Ganesh's slain torso. Lord Brahma brought the boy back to life and they took him to Parvati.

Parvati still had a few conditions to be fulfilled by the Gods for her son before she agreed to cease the havoc created by the Shaktis. She asked that he should be invincible, the giver of victory and God of wisdom. The person who worships him should gain success and property. She also wanted that nobody should be permitted to heaven before pleasing him and it should be compulsory to first invoke him before any other deity. These were all granted to Lord Ganesh, by the triumvirate of Gods, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva appointed Lord Ganesh as the leader of his gana (public) and called him Ganapati, literally meaning, leader of people. Ganapati represents all the qualities that a leader should have. A leader should listen to everybody, therefore the large ears. He should have nose to scent out the smallest problem, which a large trunk does with sensitivity. A large forehead is an indicator of a brilliant mind. It is important for the leader not to let out all that he knows or all that he has been told, that is why Lord Ganapati has large stomach.

Shiva

Lord Shiva represents the aspect of the Supreme Being (Brahman of the Upanishads) that continuously dissolves to recreate in the cyclic process of creation, preservation, dissolution and recreation of the universe. As stated earlier, Lord Shiva is the third member of the Hindu Trinity, the other two being Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu.
Owing to His cosmic activity of dissolution and recreation, the words destroyer and destruction have been erroneously associated with Lord Shiva. This difficulty arises when people fail to grasp the true significance of His cosmic role. The creation sustains itself by a delicate balance between the opposing forces of good and evil. When this balance is disturbed and sustenance of life becomes impossible, Lord Shiva dissolves the universe for creation of the next cycle so that the unliberated souls will have another opportunity to liberate themselves from bondage with the physical world. Thus, Lord Shiva protects the souls from pain and suffering that would be caused by a dysfunctional universe. In analogous cyclic processes, winter is essential for spring to appear and the night is necessary for the morning to follow. To further illustrate, a goldsmith does not destroy gold when he melts old irreparable golden jewelry to create beautiful new ornaments.
Lord Shiva is the Lord of mercy and compassion. He protects devotees from evil forces such as lust, greed, and anger. He grants boons, bestows grace and awakens wisdom in His devotees. The symbolism discussed below includes major symbols that are common to all pictures and images of Shiva venerated by Hindus. Since the tasks of Lord Shiva are numerous, He cannot be symbolized in one form. For this reason the images of Shiva vary significantly in their symbolism.

• The unclad body covered with ashes: the unclad body symbolizes the transcendental aspect of the Lord. Since most things reduce to ashes when burned, ashes symbolize the physical universe. The ashes on the unclad body of the Lord signify that Shiva is the source of the entire universe which emanates from Him, but He transcends the physical phenomena and is not affected by it.
• Matted locks: Lord Shiva is the Master of yoga. The three matted locks on the head of the Lord convey the idea that integration of the physical, mental and spiritual energies is the ideal of yoga.
• Ganga: Ganga (river Ganges) is associated with Hindu mythology and is the most sacred river of Hindus. According to tradition, one who bathes in Ganga (revered as Mother Ganga) in accordance with traditional rites and ceremonies on religious occasions in combination with certain astrological events, is freed from sin and attains knowledge, purity and peace. Ganga, symbolically represented on the head of the Lord by a female (Mother Ganga) with a jet of water emanating from her mouth and falling on the ground, signifies that the Lord destroys sin, removes ignorance, and bestows knowledge, purity and peace on the devotees.
• The crescent moon: is shown on the side of the Lord's head as an ornament, and not as an integral part of His countenance. The waxing and waning phenomenon of the moon symbolizes the time cycle through which creation evolves from the beginning to the end. Since the Lord is the Eternal Reality, He is beyond time. Thus, the crescent moon is only one of His ornaments, and not an integral part of Him.
• Three eyes: Lord Shiva, also called Tryambaka Deva (literally, "three-eyed Lord"), is depicted as having three eyes: the sun is His right eye, the moon the left eye and fire the third eye. The two eyes on the right and left indicate His activity in the physical world. The third eye in the center of the forehead symbolizes spiritual knowledge and power, and is thus called the eye of wisdom or knowledge. Like fire, the powerful gaze of Shiva's third eye annihilates evil, and thus the evil-doers fear His third eye.
• Half-open eyes: when the Lord opens His eyes, a new cycle of creation emerges and when He closes them, the universe dissolves for creation of the next cycle. The half-open eyes convey the idea that creation is going through cyclic process, with no beginning and no end. Lord Shiva is the Master of Yoga, as He uses His yogic power to project the universe from Himself. The half-open eyes also symbolize His yogic posture.

• Kundalas (two ear rings): two Kundalas, Alakshya (meaning "which cannot be shown by any sign") and Niranjan (meaning "which cannot be seen by mortal eyes") in the ears of the Lord signify that He is beyond ordinary perception. Since the kundala in the left ear of the Lord is of the type used by women and the one in His right ear is of the type used by men, these Kundalas also symbolize the Shiva and Shakti (male and female) principle of creation.
• Snake around the neck: sages have used snakes to symbolize the yogic power of Lord Shiva with which He dissolves and recreates the universe. Like a yogi, a snake hoards nothing, carries nothing, builds nothing, lives on air alone for a long time, and lives in mountains and forests. The venom of a snake, therefore, symbolizes the yogic power.
• A snake (Vasuki Naga): is shown curled three times around the neck of the Lord and is looking towards His right side. The three coils of the snake symbolize the past, present and future - time in cycles. The Lord wearing the curled snake like an ornament signifies that creation proceeds in cycles and is time dependent, but the Lord Himself transcends time. The right side of the body symbolizes the human activities based upon knowledge, reason and logic. The snake looking towards the right side of the Lord signifies that the Lord's eternal laws of reason and justice preserve natural order in the universe.
• Rudraksha necklace: Rudra is another name of Shiva. Rudra also means "strict or uncompromising" and aksha means "eye." Rudraksha necklace worn by the Lord illustrates that He uses His cosmic laws firmly - without compromise - to maintain law and order in the universe. The necklace has 108 beads which symbolize the elements used in the creation of the world.
• Varda Mudra: the Lord's right hand is shown in a boon- bestowing and blessing pose. As stated earlier, Lord Shiva annihilates evil, grants boons, bestows grace, destroys ignorance, and awakens wisdom in His devotees.
• Trident (Trisula): a three-pronged trident shown adjacent to the Lord symbolizes His three fundamental powers (shakti) of will (iccha), action (kriya) and knowledge (jnana). The trident also symbolizes the Lord's power to destroy evil and ignorance.
• Damaru (drum): a small drum with two sides separated from each other by a thin neck-like structure symbolizes the two utterly dissimilar states of existence, unmanifest and manifest. When a damaru is vibrated, it produces dissimilar sounds which are fused together by resonance to create one sound. The sound thus produced symbolizes Nada, the cosmic sound of AUM, which can be heard during deep meditation. According to Hindu scriptures, Nada is the source of creation.
• Kamandalu: a water pot (Kamandalu) made from a dry pumpkin contains nectar and is shown on the ground next to Shiva. The process of making Kamandalu has deep spiritual significance. A ripe pumpkin is plucked from a plant, its fruit is removed and the shell is cleaned for containing the nectar. In the same way, an individual must break away from attachment to the physical world and clean his inner self of egoistic desires in order to experience the bliss of the Self, symbolized by the nectar in the Kamandalu.
• Nandi: the bull is associated with Shiva and is said to be His vehicle. The bull symbolizes both power and ignorance. Lord Shiva's use of the bull as a vehicle conveys the idea that He removes ignorance and bestows power of wisdom on His devotees. The bull is called Vrisha in Sanskrit. Vrisha also means dharma (righteousness). Thus a bull shown next to Shiva also indicates that He is the etemal companion of righteousness.
• Tiger skin: a tiger skin symbolizes potential energy. Lord Shiva, sitting on or wearing a tiger skin, illustrates the idea that He is the source of the creative energy that remains in potential form during the dissolution state of the universe. Of His own Divine Will, the Lord activates the potential form of the creative energy to project the universe in endless cycles.
• Cremation ground: Shiva sitting in the cremation ground signifies that He is the controller of death in the physical world. Since birth and death are cyclic, controlling one implies controlling the other. Thus, Lord Shiva is revered as the ultimate controller of birth and death in the phenomenal world.