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Shrimad Devi Bhagwat Puran, Skand 3, Adhyay 5, page no.123

God Vishnu prayed to Durga: said that I (Vishnu), Brahma, and Shankar are existing by your grace. We have birth (aavirbhaav) and death (tirobhaav). We are not eternal (immortal). Only you are eternal, are the mother of the world (jagat janani), are Prakriti, and Goddess Sanatani (existing for time immemorial). God Shiv said: If god Brahma, and god Vishnu have taken birth from you, then am I, Shankar, who was born after them and perform Tamoguni leela (divine play), not your son? Henceforth, you are my mother too. Your gunas are always present everywhere in this world’s creation, preservation, and destruction. The three of us, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shankar, born of these three gunas (qualities) remain devoted to work according to the regulations.

But according to Bhagvad Gita, Lord Krishna is the origin of all gods. Not only Bhagvad Gita but many other scriptures tell different stories about the origin of all gods.

By the way, my question is, are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva not eternal?

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  • related: hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/237/…
    – S K
    May 4, 2022 at 19:04
  • As I said different stories in different scriptures. May 4, 2022 at 19:08
  • Durga is mother of all three Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in Shrimad Devi Bhagwat Puran. May 4, 2022 at 19:10
  • true - it is the Kathenothesitic nature of Hinduism. In addition to these 4, Ganesa,,Kartikeya,,Garuda et al have been declared supreme. Within the same scripture, different deities are called supreme. Although most people regard Rama and Krishna as Incarnations of Vishnu, some sects believe Rama or Krishna is supreme.
    – S K
    May 4, 2022 at 19:14
  • 1
    Does this answer your question? What is the Life span of Hindu gods
    – YDS
    May 8, 2022 at 11:26

1 Answer 1

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As per varying scriptures, we get varying accounts.

Even within same scripture we can get varying accounts of Supreme deities.

Since you have given an account from Devi Bhagvat Purana, I'll give another excerpt from the same Purana where Krishna is declared Supreme, only next to the Supreme Parashakti. All the deities are said to ultimately merge into Krishna at the end of Brahma's 100 years, and when all deities hsve been merged into Krishna, he merges into the Supreme Parashakti, as per this excerpt.

Chapter 38, Book 9, DeviBhagvatam

Yamaraja Said -

Then my Father told the Glories of Prakriti Devī. Now I describe to you what I heard from my Father and what is stated in the Vedas, though very difficult to comprehend. Listen carefully. O Fair Faced One! As the eternal space does not know its own extent, so Prakriti Devī Herself knows not Her own Glories; then what can be said of any other person on this! She is the Self of all, endowed with all powers and lordship, the Cause of all causes, the Lord of all, the Origin of all and the Preserver of all; She is Eternal, always with Her Cosmic Body, full of everlasting bliss, without any special form, unrestrained, having no fear, without any disease and decay, unattached, the Witness of all, the Refuge of all, and Higher than the Highest; She is with Māyā and She is Mūla Prakriti; the objects created by Her being known as the Prakriti creation; Who remains as Prakriti and Puruṣa inseparable from each other as Agni and Her burning force; the Mahā Māyā, of the nature of everlasting existence, intelligence and bliss. Though formless, She assumes forms for the gratification of the desires of Her Bhaktas. She created first the beautiful form of Gopāla Sundarī, i.e., the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa very lovely and beautiful, captivating the mind. His body is blue like the fresh rain cloud; He is young and dressed like that of a cow herd. Millions of Kandarpas (the Love deity) are, as it were, playing in his body. His eyes vie with the midday lotus of the autumn.

....

It is through His fear that the Creator is doing His work of creation of this Universe; and is recording the Prārabdha fruits of their Karmas. It is through His fear that Viṣṇu is awarding the fruits of Tapas and preserving the Universe. By His command the Kālagni Rudra Deva is destroying all. By Whose favour Śiva has become Mrityumjaya, the Conqueror of Death and the Foremost of the Jñānins; knowing whom Śiva has become Himself endowed with knowledge and the Lord of the knowers of knowledge, full of the Highest Bliss, devotion and dispassion. Through Whose fear the wind becomes the foremost of runners and carries things, the Sun gives heat, Indra gives rain, Yama destroys, Agni burns, and Water cools all the things. By Whose command the Regents of the (ten) quarters of the sky are watching and preserving nice orders; through Whose fear the planets are describing their several orbits. Through Whose fear, trees flower and yield fruits; By Whose command the Kāla destroys all. By Whose command all the beings whether on land or in water are quitting their lives in time; until the proper time comes no man does not die even if he be pierced whether in battle or in danger. By Whose command the wind supports the water; the water supports the tortoise; the tortoise supports the Ananta and the Ananta supports the earth; the earth supports the oceans, mountain and all the jewels. The earth is of the nature of forgiveness, i.e., endures all. For this reason all things, moving and non-moving, rest on Her and again melt away in Her. Seventy-one Divine Yugas constitute one Indra’s life period. Twenty-eight Indra’s life periods constitute Brahmā’s one day and one night. Thus thirty days constitute Brahmā’s one month; so two months constitute one Ritu (season); six Ritus make one year.

Thus one hundred years constitute Brahmā’s life. When Brahmā dies, Śrī Hari’s eye closes. That is the Prākritik Pralaya. At this time, everything, moving and non-moving, from the Deva loka to Bhūr loka (earth) dies. The Creator Brahmā gets dissolved in the navel of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The four-armed Viṣṇu, of Vaikuṇṭha, sleeps on Kṣīra Samudra, the ocean of milk, i.e., He dissolves on the left side of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Highest Spirit. All the other Śaktis (forces) dissolve in Mūla Prakriti, the Māyā of Viṣṇu. The Mūla Prakriti Durgā, the Presiding Deity of Buddhi (reason) dissolves in the Buddhi of Kṛṣṇa. Skanda, the part of Nārāyaṇa, dissolves in His breast. Gane’sa, the foremost of the Devas, born in part of Kṛṣṇa, dissolves in the arm of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

And those who are born in parts of Padmā, dissolve in Her body and Padmā dissolves in the body of Rādhā. All the cow-herdesses and all the bodies of the Devas dissolve in Rādhā’s body. But Rādhā, the Presiding Deity of the Prāṇa of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, dissolves in the Prāṇa of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Sāvitrī, the four Vedas and all the Śāstras dissolve in Sarasvatī; and Sarasvatī gets dissolved in the tongue of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Highest Self. The Gopās in the region of Goloka dissolve in the pores of His skin; the Prāṇa Vāyu of all dissolve in His Prāṇa Vāyu; the fire dissolves in the fire in His belly; water dissolves in the tip of His tongue, and the Vaiṣṇavas, (devotees of Viṣṇu), drinking the nectar of Bhakti, the Essence of all essences, dissolve in His lotus-feet. All smaller Virāts dissolve in the Great Virāt and the Great Virāt dissolves in the Body of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. O Child! He is Kṛṣṇa, on the pores of Whose skin are situated endless Universes; at the closing of Whose eyes, the Prākritic Pralaya comes and on the opening of Whose eyes, the creation takes place. The closing and opening of the eyes takes the same time. Brahmā’s creation lasts one hundred years and the Pralaya lasts one hundred years. O One of good vows! There is no counting how many Brahmās or how many creations and dissolutions have taken place. As one cannot count the number of dusts, so one cannot count the creations and dissolutions. This is the Great Unspeakable Wonder!

Again on Whose closing of the eyes the Pralaya takes place and on whose opening of the eyes the creation takes place, out of the will of God, That Kṛṣṇa dissolves at the time of Pralaya in Prakriti. This Highest Śakti, the Mūla Prakriti is the Only One without a second; it is the only one Nirguṇa and the Highest Puruṣa. It is considered as “Sat” existing, by the Seers of the Vedas. Such a thing as Mūla Prakriti is the unchanged state (Mukti). During the Pralaya, this only One Mūla Prakriti appears as Jñāna Śakti or the Knowledge Force


English Translation by Swami Vijnananda

(The Sanskrit + Hindi Translation by the Gita Press Gorakhpur maybe accessed from here)

So here, it has been stated how Krishna manifests from the Supreme Parashakti, who's Nirguna, and from Krishna evolves and in him dissolves every deity.




Now, consider the following excerpt again from the same Purāṇa

Book 5: Chapter 1, DeviBhagvatam

The sages, therefore, consider Viṣṇu superior to Brahmā; they again consider Rudra superior to Viṣṇu and Māheśvarī (Turīya State) again superior to Rudra. .... .... Viṣṇu is superior to Brahmā; Rudra is superior to Viṣṇu (25.a). Therefore no doubt can arise in Kṛṣṇa’s worshipping Śiva. It is through the will of Śiva that a second Rudra originated from the forehead of Brahmā to offer boons to him (i. e., to Brahmā). This second Rudra is venerable and entitled to all worship; what to speak of the First Rudra? O King! It is through the proximity of the Devī that the importance and superiority of Śiva is thus established (27.b).


So, above, we get yet another different viewpoint.





Now, to answer your question, if the Trinity are immortals or not, that too have varying accounts depending upon the sectarian text being used : In this question - What is the Life span of Hindu gods




For further reading, refer:




Conclusion -

As per varying texts, depending upon the sect, the interpretation by the acharyas of the sect, etc. we can have all the Trimurtis as either eternal (free from birth-rebirth and karmic cycles), or subject to birth and rebirth, and designated as a position (post).

There's no conclusive pan-Hinduism answer to this question, acceptable by all sects unanimously.

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