Hindu Deities Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deity within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati. The deities of Hinduism have evolved from the Vedic era (2nd millennium BC) through the medieval era (1st millennium AD), regionally within Nepal, India and in Southeast Asia, and...
Bhakti Movement The Bhakti movement refers to the theistic devotional trend that emerged in medieval Hinduism and later acted as the de facto catalyst to the formation and subsequent revolutionization in the form of Sikhism. It originated in eighth-century south India (now Tamil Nadu and Kerala), and spread northwards. It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards,...
Ganesha Ganesha (गणेश, Gaṇeśa), also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bali (Indonesia), and Bangladesh and in countries with large ethnic Indian populations including Fiji, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago. Hindu denominations...
Vishnu Vishnu (विष्णु, Viṣṇu) is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. The “preserver” in the Hindu triad (Trimurti), Vishnu is revered as the supreme being In Vaishnavism as identical to the metaphysical concept of Brahman (Atman, the self, or unchanging ultimate reality), and is notable for adopting various incarnations (avatars such as Rama and Krishna) to preserve...
Shiva Shiva (शिव, Śiva, lit. ”the auspicious one”), also known as Mahadeva (lit. ”the great god”), is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Shaivism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Shiva is known as “The Destroyer” within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In...
Incarnation Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient being who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial. In its religious context the word is used to mean the descent from Heaven of a god, deity, or...
Deva In Buddhism A deva (देव, Mongolian tenger (тэнгэр)) in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the godlike characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, much happier than humans, although the same level of veneration is not paid to them as to buddhas. The concept of devas was...
Idolatry In Sikhism Sikhism prohibits idolatry, in accordance with mainstream Khalsa norms and the teachings of the Sikh Gurus, a position that has been accepted as orthodox. Growing Sikh popular discontent with Gurdwara administration and practices during the 1800s, revivalist movements in the mid-1800s who opposed idolatry like the Nirankaris (who strongly opposed the practice,...
Mother goddess A mother goddess is a goddess who represents or is a personification of motherhood. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. The concept is complementary to a “Sky Father” or “Father Sky“. There is difference of opinion between...
Chinese gods and immortals This article covers Chinese gods and immortals. Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world. The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven (Tian 天), which is the supreme godhead manifesting in...
god (male deity) A god is a male deity, in contrast with a goddess, a female deity. While the term “goddess” specifically refers to a female deity, the plural “gods” can be applied to deities collectively, regardless of gender. The Greek and Roman pantheons were ruled by Zeus, and Jupiter. A god as a...
Personal god A personal god is a deity who can be related to as a person instead of as an impersonal force, such as the Absolute, “the All”, or the “Ground of Being”. In the scriptures of the Abrahamic religions, God is described as being a personal creator, speaking in the first person and...
What Is Deity Yoga? Deity yoga (Devata-yoga) is a practice of Vajrayana Buddhism involving identification with a chosen deity through visualisations and rituals, and the realisation of emptiness. According to the Tibetan scholar Tsongkhapa, deity yoga is what separates Buddhist Tantra practice from the practice of other Buddhist schools. Deity...
What Is Divine Retribution? Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or everyone by a deity in response to some action. Many cultures have a story about how a deity exacted punishment upon previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom. An example of divine retribution is the story found in...
Fear Of God The Fear of God refers to fear or a specific sense of respect, awe, and submission to a deity. People subscribing to popular monotheistic religions might fear divine judgment, hell or God‘s omnipotence. Bahá’í In the Bahá’í Faith, “The heart must be sanctified from every form of...
What Is Avatar? An avatar (अवतार, avatāra), a concept in Hinduism that means “descent”, refers to the material appearance or incarnation of a deity on earth. The relative verb to “alight, to make one’s appearance” is sometimes used to refer to any guru or revered human being. The word avatar does not appear in the Vedic...
Ishvara Ishvara (ईश्वर) is a concept in Hinduism, with a wide range of meanings that depend on the era and the school of Hinduism. In ancient texts of Indian philosophy, depending on the context, Ishvara can mean supreme soul, ruler, lord, king, queen or husband. In medieval era Hindu texts, depending on the...
Set (Deity) Set or Seth (Setesh, Sutekh, Setekh, or Suty) is a god of chaos, the desert, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion. In Ancient Greek, the god’s name is given as Sēth (Σήθ). Set had a positive role where he accompanies Ra on his solar boat to repel Apep, the serpent...
Devi Devī (देवी) is the Sanskrit word for “goddess“; the masculine form is Deva. Devi – the feminine form, and Deva – the masculine form, mean “heavenly, divine, anything of excellence”, and are also gender specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept and reverence for goddesses appear in the Vedas, which...
What Is Ilah? Ilah (إله; plural: آلهة ʾālihah) is an Arabic term meaning “deity” or “god“. The feminine is ʾilāhah (إلاهة, meaning “goddess“); with the article, it appears as al-ʾilāhah – الإلاهة. The Arabic word for God (al-Lāh) is thought to be derived from it. Ilah is cognate to Northwest Semitic ʾēl and Akkadian ilum. The...