Hindu Deities Flashcards
Module 7
Agni
🔥🐏♈🧨
God of fire (includes the sun, lightning, and all other fire)
- friend of humanity
- drives out demons (with fire/light)
- protector of homes
- riding a ram or goat, flaming hair
- Vedic deity
Indra
🐘👑🗡️⛈️🌧️
God of storms, rain, war
- King of the elephants
- riding an elephant
- Holds hooks or daggers
- Indo-Aryan, Vedic deity
Brahma
🎅🏽🎅🏽🎅🏽🎅🏽
the creator god
- four faces representing four corners of the universe
- creative force that made the universe
- no longer active on earth
- four arms
- not very important in worship
Shiva
🐍🐄🔱🕺🏾🛞
god of destruction, revival, and fertility
- cobra around neck
- holds a trishula 🔱
- drum rattle, sound of universe
- dancing, speeding through cycles of samsara
- had two wives
- cow named Nandi
- Lingam and Yoni, objects of worship
- can be portrayed as male or female, represents all energies in the universe and the opposites/balance
Vishnu
god of preservation
- holds a conch shell
- disc of light
- Avatar Krishna
Kali
😈👅👩🏿🎤💃🏿🩸☠️
god of darkness, destruction and death
- black in color
- tongue out (drink blood of demon)
- standing on shiva’s naked body
- 1st wife of shiva
- necklace of skulls
- skirt of severed hands
Ganesha
god of new beginnings
- Elephant head
- son of Shiva and Parvati
- Lotus
- bowls of sweets/food
Nandi
🐄
Shiva’s pet bull/cow
- represents the cow being sacred to Hindus
Varuna
god of the sky and oceans
- sustainer of the cosmic order
- rides a part fish creature
Parvati
goddess of beauty, power, energy, love, harmony, nourishment, and motherhood
- Daughter of Himalaya mountains
- 2nd wife of Shiva
- Mother of Ganesh
Sarasvati
goddess of learning
- very popular
- wife of Brahma
- holds musical instruments
Krishna
Avatar of Vishnu, known in Bhagavad-Gita for counseling Arjuna on the battlefield
What is an Avatar?
a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an incarnate divine teacher
