The major religions of the world are Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Jesus is the principal God in Christianity. Allah is the only God in Islam. But in the case of Hinduism, there is no principal God. Several million people in India worship Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesh and many other Gods as their Personal God but there has never been a consensus about who has the supreme authority. This has led to the question in the minds of many as to why there are so many Gods in Hinduism unlike other religions in the world. To answer this question, one must understand the origin of these Personal Gods (the Gods we worship) themselves.
In my earlier blog titled “Who is the Hindu God?” I had written that Brahman is the Supreme Being and is beyond all the Gods that we know and worship today. The Trimurthi of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the 3 manifested forms of the One unmanifest Brahman residing in the “devaloka” to carry out the functions of this universe. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer.
The divine consorts of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are Saraswati, Lakshmi and Shakti respectively. These goddesses are divine female counterparts of the Trimurthi assisting them to carry out their functions
Whenever evil rises to dangerous proportions in this material world and threatens the truth, an avatar of the Trimurthi descends on this earth to slay the evil and uphold the truth. The human race of that time worshipped that avatar and that tradition continues even today
Lord Krishna says this to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita (4-7:8) as below:
“yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadā ‘tmānam srjāmy aham”
Meaning: Whenever and wherever there is a decline in righteousness and rise of unrighteousness, O Bhārata (Arjuna), I descend (incarnate) Myself
“paritrānāya sādhunām
vināsāya ca duskrtām
dharma-samsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge”
Meaning: For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being from age to age
All the Gods that we worship today are avatars of the Trimurthi especially Vishnu. Few of them are listed below
Rama-Sita: Vishnu and Lakshmi incarnated as Rama and Sita to defeat Ravana in the epic battle of Ramayana. This was in Treta Yuga
Krishna-Radha: Vishnu and Lakshmi incarnated as Krishna and Radha to defeat Kauravas in the epic battle of Mahabharata in Kurukshetra. This was in Dwapara Yuga
Narasimha: Vishnu incarnates as Narasimha (part-human, part-lion form) to kill the demon named Hiranyakashipu, father of Prahlada who was a great devotee of Vishnu
Vamana: Vishnu incarnates as a dwarf Brahmin to control the arrogance of the demon king Mahabali who won the authority of the heavens from Indra
Venkatachalapathy-Padmavati: Vishnu and Lakshmi incarnated as Venkatachalapathy and Padmavati to cure the disease of samsara in the areas of birth and death
Anjaneya: Shiva takes the avatar of Anjaneya to assist Rama to defeat Ravana
Durga: Durga is a manifestation of the fierce power of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva put together to defeat the demon Mahishasura. She is the warrior form of the divine Mother
Kali: Kali is born out of the frowned forehead of Durga and takes fierceful and ferocious form to kill the evil forces
Thus, it is very clear that all Personal Gods we worship today are avatars of the Trimurthi who in turn are manifestations of the Supreme Being, the Brahman. In worshipping one of the many Gods of Hinduism, we are indirectly worshipping the unmanifest and the infinite Brahman
As all Gods are manifestation of the only Brahman, there is no question of who is more powerful among the Gods (Vishnu or Siva?). To the ignorant, this is not known. To the wise, all Gods are one and it is Brahman
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