33 million gods in Hinduism?
33 million Gods of Hinduism – Myth or reality? India is a spiritual country, and gods and goddesses form the very base of our existence. The Indian Calendar is marked with multiple festivities revolving around these deities throughout the year. We look at them as a guiding force, trying to imbibe their good qualities and learnings in our day to day life. They are more like a source of cosmic inspiration. За да прочетете статията на български, можете да инсталирате плъгин Google Преводач от тук.
Do we really have 33 million gods?
There is a belief that they exist and they reside in the divine cow – Kamadhenu. She is the one who provides the owner with whatever he desires. This is one of the predominant reasons why cows are holy in Hinduism and most people abstain from eating cow meat.
In reality we do not have 33 million gods 🙂 It is a translation mistake which caught on and spread around as a myth.
So how did this happen? The term “Trayastrimsati koti” mentioned in Atharva Veda can have two meanings, since “koti” can mean with a million or supreme god or goddess. The first one caught up and so did the myth of 33 million gods.
So let’s list the 33 gods to get a better understanding of what they really mean.
Eight Vasu’s
These are the attendant deities of Lord Indra and control 8 elements. The seven chakra system in hinduism is also based on the vasus. Surya is eternal and the seven others for the chakras.
Agni – Fire – Solar plexus chakra
Vayu – Wind – Heart chakra
Vruna – Water – Sacral chakra
Surya – Sun
Dhara / Prithvi – Earth – Root chakra
Nakshatra – Stars – Crown chakra
Dyaus – Sky – Throat chakra
Soma – Moon – Third eye chakra
Twelve Aditya’s
The Aditya’s represent 12 solar months and different attributes of social life.
Indra – leader of other Adityas
Ansh – due share
Aryaman – nobility
Bhaag – due inheritance
Dhatri – ritual skill
Tvashtar – skill in crafting
Mitra – friendship
Pushan/Ravi – prosperity
Savitra/Parjanya – power of word
Surya – social law
Varun – fate
Vaman – cosmic law
11 Rudra’s
There are multiple schools of thoughts when it comes to understanding the Rudras
In Sanskrit language the word Rud means to weep. There are 10 organs in the human body, 5 are Gyanedriya or sense organs while the other 5 are karmendriya or motor organs. The 11th one is the soul. When these leave the body they make you weep and hence they are the 11 Rudras.
The other school of thought says that the 11 Rudras consist of five abstractions and 5 names of lord Shiva with the 11th one being the soul
The 5 abstractions
Vijnana – Knowledge
Manas – Thought
Ananda – Bliss
Prana – Breath
Vacha – Speech
The five names of Lord Shiva
Aghora – Rejuvenation or dissolution
Tatpurusa – Concealing grace
Vamadeva – Preserving aspect
Sadyojata – Born at once
Isana – the revealing grace
The last one is the soul
The final two in the list are the Aswinis. They were the gods physicians and the ones who transferred the knowledge of medicine to human kind. It is said that during Mahabharata they were born as Nakul and Sahadev the brothers of Pandavas.
Yes the Hindu tree of gods is a little complicated, but this is what forms the base of them all. I will write about specific ones down the line especially Shiva, and Ganesha since they are known globally 🙂 In the meanwhile Did you know how many languages India has?
