Questions tagged [gods]
For questions about Hindu gods in general. If you have a question about a specific god (e.g. Indra or Shiva), please use a more specific tag instead of this one.
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Is the ultimate purpose of life only to serve God?
I wonder at this question, because as with most major religions, it seems all you are mostly meant to do is to serve/devote yourself to God. It also seems that even in Hinduism this is the only way to ...
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Is Hinduism strictly polytheistic or are the gods considered to be eventually one entity?
In Hinduism we have the "main" three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. We also have many, many, more devas, each with his or her own dominion.
Of course, the devas may appear in various avatars, in ...
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How the universe was created?
I always think what was the start.
How it started?
Who was the creator?
Who created god?
Who created the creator?
Where did the solid material, to create planets, came from?
Can anybody explain me ...
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Why is "Chandra" added in the name of Lord Rama?
Why is "Chandra" added to the name of Lord Rama even though he is from the "Suryavanshi" (solar) clan? Also, this title was not added to any of his brothers or his father - only to Rama himself.
What ...
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Do animals know God exists?
I remember a scene from the Telugu movie Sri Ramadasu in which animals such as elephants, deer and peacocks are filled with ecstasy when Lord Vishnu descends to earth as Lord Rama, and welcomed Him. ...
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Why Jesus Isu Christ, Guru Nanak, Buddha and Muhammad should not be considered as Lord Vishnu's avatars? [closed]
As usual in general weekends I was reading Shrimad Bhagawat Gita yesterday night, in which verses were,
Chapter 9 Verse 29
Smoham Sarvabhuteshu
Means I am equally disposed to all living entities
...
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Why do Gods take avatar?
In the Ramayana, Shri Ram was an avatar of Vishnu; in the Gita or Mahabharata, Shri Krishna was an avatar of Vishnu. Everything they did in human form, they were perfectly able to do it in their ...
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Do Gods die in Hinduism?
In Christianity, God dies. Something similar concept is there in Norse mythology. Are there any stories in Hinduism about the death of Gods?
P.S. I am not talking about avatars.
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What made Indra the king of Svargalok?
Svargalok is considered as a place where good people reside. From the wiki -
Svarga is seen as a transitory place for righteous souls who have
performed good deeds in their lives.
However, many ...
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Why is Kartikeya not worshiped much compared to lord Shiva, lord Ganesha and goddess Parvati?
Kartikeya is elder son of lord Shiva and goddess Parvati, but he is not worshiped much compared to his dad, mother and brother.
If you visit temples in our country, rarely any temple will have an ...
- 7,051
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Which form of Shiva is in the attached picture?
Which form of Shiva is it in this picture? Why did he take this form?
- 7,247
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Why is God's name used for people?
Names of many Indians are derived from names of various Hindu Gods. Even here on Hinduism.SE, we have many users with such names, for example, Keshav Srinivasan, Krishna, Ram, Hari, Damodaran, Shiva, ...
user11
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Difference between Devas, Daevas, Asuras and Rakshasa
What is the difference between Devas, Daevas, Asuras and Rakshasa fundamentally?
It is very confusing to distinguish and characterize them without clear examples.
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Why all Avatar's and Grantha's references happened only in India and not elsewhere?
This is more merely an outside question. Many have a conscious feeling that why all Devas, Avataras and incidents written on our text books are confined to Indian Mediterranean, mostly North region of ...
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Which shloka or scripture states that there are 33 crores of Hindu gods?
Please mention the shloka that explicitly states that there are 33 crores of Hindu Gods.
Please do not quote Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, because I think it just states that there are 33 gods. Not 33 ...
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Why are Gods and Yogis shown sitting on animals skins?
It can be observed that many Hindu Gods and saints are shown sitting on animal (tiger) skins. What could be the reason behind this?
user11
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What exactly is a leela (लीला)? Is there a scriptural definition of leela (लीला)?
When people cannot logically explain certain actions of Gods, their incarnations, Saints, Ṛṣis etc., they often use the term leela which is sometimes spelled as līlā and lIlA.
I think the word ...
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What language did people at the time of Ramayana and Mahabharata use to communicate? Sanskrit?
What was the mode of communication among the people at the time of Ramayana and Mahabharata? Was it Sanskrit?
Did Krishna, Pandavas and Kauravas (who I think had origins near the state of Bihar, where ...
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What is the concept of God in Hinduism?
I have been studying Hindu scriptures for few years out of curiosity to know the concept of God. The more I study the more confused I am about the identity of God according to Hindu scriptures. I am ...
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According to Bhagvad Gita, Lord Krishna is the ultimate God. So why are there other beliefs in Hinduism?
I am talking about monotheism and polytheism. When we refer to bagavat Gita we can see that bagvan gives answer to this, he is the creator, preserver and destroyer.
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How do you find out your Ishta-Deva (personal deity)?
I've heard that the Ishta-Deva is pre-decided for each person.
How do you know who your Ishta-Deva is?
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Why do Devas stop people from attaining Brahma Vidya?
Why is it that gods do this? Adi Shankaracharya says there are 3 people stopping one from self-realization:
The individual himself
Other people
Devas
Swami Sarvananda in his commentary on the ...
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Why do devotees offer gods own creation as offering to him?
I see lot of people offering flowers, fruits and other tangible things to god to please him. However, I fail to understand, how can god be pleased by offerings that are his own creation.
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What is the meaning of "Swasti na Indro Vridhhashravaha..."?
This mantra is very famous, mostly also used in TV shows while showing Yajnas. This is also known as Shanti Path Mantra:
ॐ भद्रं कर्णेभिः शृणुयाम देवाः ।
भद्रं पश्येमाक्षभिर्यजत्राः ।
स्थि...
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Is Lord Shiva dark in complexion?
We know that the complexion of Lord Vishnu / Krishna is dark (shyam varna) but what is the complexion of Lord Shiva, dark or white?
user3870
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Why is Lord Hanuman also referred as "Bajaranga Bali"?
The name "Bajaranga Bali" is quite famous especially in the northern parts of India. There are popular movies made with this name, such as Bajrangbali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.
However these names are ...
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Why is killing a brahmin considered sin while killing other caste people is not?
This question itself is motivated from this other question: What are different types of sins?
Where the accepted answer cites some points from scriptures:
Maha-pataka: Killing a Brahman, ...
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Do the Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) cleanly map onto the 3 gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas)?
I've read Shiva referred to as "tamasic", and Brahma seems to be a suitable embodiment of sattva. However, rajas doesn't fit very well here. I'm not sure how to match the energy/activity aspects of ...
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Significance of certain deities using a particular animal as their vehicle
The Hindu texts are replete with references of deities using a particular animal as their primary vehicle. E.g., Ganesha has a mouse for his vehicle, Shiva uses an ox (Nandi), while Karthikeya is ...
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What bodies (Koshas or layers) do Devas, Trimurthis and their Shaktis (consorts) have?
The two questions What are Five Layers (Pancha Kosha) of Human? and Where does a Soul attached to the Body? explain various koshas (Sheaths) of human body. Trimurthi and their respective Shaktis are ...
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Who gives Moksha?
Lord Krishna is the supreme Being according to the Bhagavad Gita and is the giver of moksha. Also, can all the avatars of Vishnu give moksha? Like Lord Govinda, Lord Rama, Lord Lakshmi Narasimha, Lord ...
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Was Rama a god?
Rama was born as the eldest son of Kausalya and Dasharatha and become the ruler of Ayodhya Kingdom. Can Rama be considered as Lord.
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Who was Lord Hayagriva?
I don't have much knowledge about Lord Hayagriva, just known that he was the one who provided vedic knowledge to Lord Brahma,he has horse head, was an avatar of Lord Vishnu, white in color, and symbol ...
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Why are Hindu gods colored?
Shiva is white, Rama is sky blue, Krishna is black, Hanuman is Goldena and Gowri is red (red+white+yellow in fact) in color.
Though the God is unique, He takes different forms with different colors ...
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Who is considered Hindu?
Keeping geographical location aside, who is considered to be a Hindu? (i.e. not belonging to other religions)
Should that person accept authority of someone (Vedas, some God, philosophy etc.)?
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Is there any Hindu god associated with muscle/muscle strength?
We all know that god for general medicine is Dhanvantri, but I want to know whether there is any god / deity particularly associated with muscles and muscle powers.
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Can a god have an Avatar of an Avatar?
I am a Vaishnav and hence I worship Shrinathji. It is said that Shrinathji is an avatar of Lord Krishna but again, Lord Krishna is an avatar of Lord Vishnu so is it possible that gods can take avatars ...
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What scriptures mention the "Vaikuntha-Kamalaja" form which is Half Vishnu & Half Lakshmi?
We all know "Ardhanarishvara" form of Shiva & Shakti . Similarly. Vaikuntha-Kamalaja
is depicted as Vishnu-Lakshmi ,half male and half female, split down the middle. The right half ...
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What is the difference between God and Devi-Devta or are they same?
Is there a difference between God and Devi-Devta or are they same?
As we know there are thousands of devis and devas, are they the same as God or is there any difference between them? If they are ...
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Did people in Krishna's time know that he was God?
Background 1
Sri Aandal in Kali yuga wanted to emulate Krishna Bhakthi which Gopika women had enjoyed in his presence.She was inspired and chose the practice of pavai nombu or vratha followed by ...
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Why one should worship God?
I am looking for exact purpose/reason on why one should worship God? Is it because we are in god's depth as he offered us a life or is it just because god is supreme, creator of world around us?
Is ...
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Who are the Vishwedevas?
This particular passage from the Mahabharat pertaining to the Shraadh ritual mentions the names of gods called Vishwedevas:
Those names at Vala, Dhriti, Vipapa, Punyakrit, Pavana, Parshni, Kshemak, ...
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Who is the supreme god according to Nath sampraday?
I want to know who is the supreme god according to Nath Sampraday ?
And what are the main scriptures of Nath Sampraday ?
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Who are the Aśvinī-kumāra brothers?
I want to know who are Aśvinī-kumāra brothers? What are their names and what is the role of Aśvins or Ashwini Kumaras in our mythology? Are they demigods?
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How do gods/devatas procreate?
I have found people claiming that gods do not procreate like humans but procreate without any bodily union on Quora, does this idea have scriptural backing?
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What is the origin of Kula Devata or Family Deity?
In India, every house has something called Kula Devata or Family Deity. What is the historical reason for having such Family deity, and on what basis are family deities assigned to families? Is there ...
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Have any Hindu philosophers attempted to solve the Riddle of Epicurus?
The Epicurean Paradox or the Riddle of Epicurus goes something like this:
If God is willing to prevent evil but not able, then He is not
omnipotent.
If He is able (to prevent evil) but not ...
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What work does God do daily?
What is God doing now, since God created this universe long ago?
Does God have daily work to do?
Let's consider what God is doing at this moment in time... I mean in the past many significant things ...
- 527
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Is Lord Bhairava same as Lord Shiva, or are they a little different? Is Bhairava a part incarnation or complete Shiva?
Like there is no difference in Vishnu, Krishna, Raama, NriSimha and other manifestation. But sometime Bhairavanatha appears a little different from Lord Shiva, as if He is a part incarnation of Lord ...
user9392
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Origins of God names - Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu
Who gave the names to the God like Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu, etc.? Are they the writers of the Vedas?
Did they ask the god to name them like this so that people can worship them by that name or the god ...
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