Westerners may have trouble u

nderstanding Hinduism principally because of its vast pantheon of gods. In fact you can look upon this entire different god simply as pictorial representations of the many attributes of the god. The one omnipresent god usually has three physical representations: Brahma is the creator, Vishn

u is the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer and reproducer. All three gods are usually shown with four arms.


Each god has an associ

ated animal known as the ‘vehicle’ on which they ride as well as a consort with certain attributes and abilities. Generally each god also holds symbols. You can even peak out which god is represented by identifying either the vehicle or symbols.

Most temples are dedicated to one or another of the gods, but most Hindu professes to be either followers of Vishnu or followers of Shiva. A variety of lesser gods and goddesses also crowd the scene. The cow is of course the holy animal of Hinduism.

The definitions that follow include the most interesting and most frequently encountered ‘big names’ plus associated consorts, vehicle and religious terminology.

Incarnations, Manifestation and aspects

There’s subtle difference between these three possibilities. Vishnu has incarnations-10 of them in all. They include Narshinga the man-lion, Krishna the cowherd and the Buddha: the teacher. Shiva, on the other hand may be god of 1000 names, but these are manifestation- what he shows himself as- not incarnations. When you start to look at the Buddhist ‘gods’ various appearances are aspects rather than incarnations or manifestations.

Brahma

Despite his supreme position, Brahma appears much less often than Shiva or Vishnu. Like those gods, Brahma has four arms but he also has four heads to represent his all-seeing presence. The four ancient orthodox Hindu scriptures are supposed to have emanated from his mouths.

Saraswati

The goddess of learning and consort of Brahma, Saraswati rides upon a white swan and holds the stringed musical instrument known as Sitar.

Shiva

As creator and destroyer, Shiva is probably the most important god in Nepal- co its important to keep on his good side! Shiva is often represented by the phallic lingam, symbolic of his creative role. His vehicle is the bull Nandi and you will often see this figure outside Shiva temples. The symbol most often seen in Shiva’s hand is the trident.

Shiva is also known as Nataraja, the cosmic dancer whose dance shook the cosmos and created the world. Shiva’s name is MR Kailas in the Himalaya and he’s also supposed to be keen on smoking hashish. He takes various forms including Pashupati and destructive Bhairab.

Pashupati

In the Kathmandu valley Shiva is most popular worshipped as Pashupati, the lord of the beasts. As the keeper of all living things, Pashupati is a Shiva in god mood, and the temple of Pashupati is the most important Hindu temple in the country.

Bhairab

In Nepal Shiva appears as Bhairab when he is in his fearful form. Bhairab can appear in 64 different ways, but none of them is pretty. Typically he has multiple arms, each clutching a weapon; he dances on a body and wears a head dress of skulls. More skulls dangles from his belt, staring his eyes and bared fangs complete the picture. Usually Bhairab is black, carries a cup made from a human skull and is attended by a dog. The gruesome figure of Bhairab near the Hanuman Dhoka palace entrance in Kathmandu is a good example of this fearsome god at his work.

Tara

Another deity who appears in both the Hindu and Buddhist pantheons is the Tara goddess. There are actually 108 different Tara, but the best known are Green Tara and White Tara. These Taras are two of the female consorts to Dhyani Buddha.

Shakti

While Shakti the goddess is Shiva’s consort, Shakti is the creative and reproductive energy of gods, which often manifests in their consorts. A Hindu god’s Shakti is far more than just a companion. A Shakti often symbolizes certain parts of a god’s personality, so while Shiva is the god of both creation and destruction, it is often his Shakti, Parvati, manifesting as Kali or Durga, who handles the destructive business and demands and blood sacrifices.

The Kathmandu valley has numerous shrines and temples dedicated to the great goddesses, including four shrines dedicated to the Joginies, the mystical goddesses who are the female counterpart to the Bhairab. These shrines are found near Sanku and the eastern end of the valley, at Guhyeshwari near Pachupatinath, at Pharpang and Vijeshwari.

Parvati

Shiva’s Shakti is Parvati the beautiful and she is the dynamic element in their relationship. Just as Shiva is also known as Mahadev, the great god, so she is Mahadevi, the great goddess. Just as Shiva often symbolizes by the Phallic lingam, so his Shakti’s symbol is the yoni, representing the female sex organ. Their relationship is sexual one and it is often Parvati who is the energetic and Dominant partner.

Shiva’s Shakti has many forms as Shiva himself. She may be peaceful Parvati, but she may be also be fearsome Kali, the black goddess, or Durga, the terrible. In this terrific form she holds a variety of weapons in her hands, struggles with demon and ride a lion. As Kali, the fiercest of the gods and goddesses, she demands, sacrifices and wear a garlands of skulls.

Machhendranath

A strictly Nepali Hindu god, Machhendranath has power over rains and the monsoon and is regarded as protector of Kathmandu valley. It’s typical of the intermingling of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs in Nepal that in the Kathmandu valley at least, Machhendranath come to be thought of as an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of our era. In actual fact the connection from Avalokiteshvara to Machhendranath is not so quite direct. Purely Buddhist Avalokiteshvara is linked with Shiva through Lokeshvara, the lord of the world. Machhendranath based on color and features: white of the Kathmandu and red of Patan. Some scholars say that they are same god, but for others they are different.

Ganesh

With his elephant head, Ganesh is probably the most easily recognized of the gods and also the most popular. Ganesh is god of prosperity and wisdom and there are many Ganesh shrines and temples in Nepal. Ganesh’s parents are Shiva and Parvati and he obtained his elephant head thanks to his father’s notorious temper. Coming back from a long trip Shiva discovered Parvati in bed with a young man. Not pausing to thimk that their son might have grown up a little during his absence Shiva lopped his head off! Parvati then forced him to bring his son back to life but he could only do so by giving him the head of the first living thing he saw- which happen to be an elephant.

Hanuman

The monkey god Hanuman is the important character for the Ramayana who came to the aid of Rama- he helped to defeat the evil Rawana and release Sita from his grasp. Hanuman’s trustworthy and alert nature is commemorating by the many statues of Hanuman seen guarding place entrance. The best known Nepal is the image of the Hanuman that stands beside the royal palace entrance in Kathmandu and indeed gives the old palace its name of Hanuman Dhoka.

Hanuman has an also the importance of medicinal connection in Nepal and other Hindu countries. The Ramayana recounts a legend how Rama desperately needed a rare herb grown only in the Himalayan region and sent hanuman for procure it for him. Unfortunately by the time he finally arrived in the mountains, Hanuman had forgotten which particular herb he had been asked to bring back to Rama, but he got an around the problem by simply grabbing a whole mountain, confident at least somewhere in the mountain would be the required plant.

On the walls of the Bir hospital in Kathmandu you can see a large illustration of Hanuman flying through the air tightly clasping a whole mountain.

Vishnu

Although in Nepal he also plays a role in the creation of the universe. Vishnu is the preserver. Narayan is the reclining Vishnu sleeping on the cosmic ocean and from his navel appears Brahma, who creates the universe.

Vishnu has four arms and can often be identified by the symbols he holds: the crunch shell, the stick like weapon and a lotus flower. Vishnu’s vehicle is the faithful man-bird Garuda, and a winged Garuda will often be seen kneeling reverently in front of Vishnu temple. Garuda has an intense hatred of snakes and is often seen destroying them. Vishnu’s shakti is Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.

Vishnu has 10 incarnation, starting with tortoise an which the universe is built. His second incarnation is fish. Number three was his boar incarnation of Varaha, who bravely destroyed the demon who wouled have drowned the world. Vishnu was again in the demon destroying mood in incarnation of half man and half-lion.

Still facing the difficulties from demons, vishnu’s next incarnation was Vamana, the dwarf who politely asked demon for patch of ground upon which to meditate, saying that the patch need only the big enough that the dwarf will could walk across it in three places. The demon agreed only to see the dwarf swell into a giant who strode across the universe in three gigantic steps. In the sixth incarnation Vishnu appeared as Parasurma, a war like Brahman who proceeded to put the warrior caste chhetris in their place.

Incarnation seven was a Rama, the hero of the Ramayana who, with help from hanuman the monkey god, rescues his beautiful wife sita from the clutches of Rawana, evil king of lanka. Sita is believed to be born in janakpur and this is also where the ram and sita married.

Incarnation eight was was the gentle and much loved Krishna, the fun loving cowherd, who dialed with the milk-maid, dance, played his flute and still managed remain devoted to his wife Radha.

For number nine Vishnu appeared as the teacher, the Buddha. Of course, the Buddhist don’t accept that the Buddha was just a incarnation of some other religion’s god. But perhaps it was a ploy to bring Hindu converts back to into the fold.

Incarnation 10? Well, we haven’t seen that one yet but it will be as kali the destroyer, when Vishnu wields the sword that will destroy the world at the end of Kaliyuga, the age we are currently in.