Indian gods: how in them not to get confused?

For a European, Hinduism seems to be something very complicated, incomprehensible, alien. This is partly due to polytheism, which has reached an incredible extent. All these Indian gods, goddesses, spirits. It seems that it is simply impossible to remember their names and functions. However, as in any religion, along with a multitude of secondary Small gods or saints is the so-called supreme pantheon. In Hinduism, as in Christianity, there is an idea of the triunity of the Most High, but somewhat in another aspect. Here there is a certain dynamism - the creator, the all-powerful destroyer. Thus, the supreme Indian gods, whose names Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, are considered not just supreme. They reflect the dynamism in the development of everything.

All Indian gods and demigods had wives. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were no exception. Their companions were called, respectively, Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvatti. These goddesses were also considered supreme and revered by the Hindus. They, along with their husbands, ruled the lives of people. So, Saraswati patronized music, art and literature. According to legend, it was she who invented Sanskrit - the oldest written language. Lakshmi was considered the goddess of love, family hearth, good luck. She embodies the wife of all the incarnations of Vishnu. Parvatti is the wife of Shiva. In a negative aspect, she is revered as Kali. In this case, it fully corresponds to her husband, since it represents destruction. Kali is portrayed as a terrible multi-armed woman in a necklace of skulls, with black developing hair, bloody fangs.

There are other Indian gods, especially revered in India. For example, Ganesha, Son of Parvatti and Shiva. He is depicted with the head of an elephant and is revered as the guardian of wealth, prosperity and happiness, a god who removes obstacles and the patron of the sciences. Also, Ganesha is the leader of the servants of Shiva. He is often portrayed as dancing.

The Indian god of love - Kama - is similar to his ancient "colleague". He is portrayed as a handsome young man with a bow and arrows. Only his bow made of reeds, and instead of arrows - flowers.

Indian gods often lost their primary importance, transforming themselves into lords of the world. For example, Varuna is a judge-god, the embodiment of world order and justice. In addition, Varuna is the omnipotent of the sea waters, the god of rain and stormy torrents. He ruled the supreme court and punished sinners, but gradually lost its importance, transformed into a ruler of the west.

Indra - originally the god of war, battle, thunder and lightning, the king of all the demigods. In his hand he had a lightning, which he punished the enemies or brought back to life the fallen soldiers in battle. Also lost its original meaning, becoming the ruler of the east.

Surya is the sun god, the all-seeing eye of the gods. His main task was to pour out the light. Surya walked across the sky, dividing day and night. In some myths, there is a reference to seven horses on which he circled the sky. In this version, Surya has something in common with Helios. Over time, he became ruler of the southeast.

God Yama is the ruler of the kingdom of the dead. His wife and companion - Yami - embodies his creative energy. Yama is considered the brother of Manu, the first person to survive the Flood. Although Yama was originally a merciful god, in time he, like many Indian gods, acquired completely different qualities and became revered as a ferocious destructive force.