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Gods & Goddesses

Ganesha

The Hindu God Ganesha Ganesha also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most widely worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon.He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also has an Elephant Head and is the destroyer of vanity, selfishness and pride. He is the personification of material universe in all its various magnificent manifestations.

His image is found throughout India. Hindu sects worship him regardless of other affiliations.Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles (Vighnesha, Vighneshvara), patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. He is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

Hanuman

Hanuman is the great monkey hero, also called Maruti, assists Rama in his battle with Ravana to rescue Sita, who had been kidnapped by Ravana. Hanuman symbolizes the qualities of an ideal devotee of God. The worship of Hanuman, symbolizes the worship of the Supreme Lord, for acquiring knowledge, physical and mental strength, truthfulness, sincerity, selflessness, humility, loyalty, and profound devotion to the Lord.

Sita

Sita is the wife of Rama, the seventh avatara of Vishnu, and is esteemed as an exemplarly of womanly and wifely virtue. According to Hindu belief, Sita was an avatara of Lakshmi, Vishnu's consort, who chose to reincarnate herself on Earth as Sita and endure an arduous life, to provide humankind an example of good virtues. Sita is one of the principal characters in the Ramayana, a Hindu epic named after her husband Rama.

Kali

Kali is a Hindu goddess with a long and complex history in Hinduism. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation still has some influence, while more complex Tantric beliefs sometimes extend her role so far as to be the Ultimate Reality (Brahman) and Source of Being. She is also known and revered as Bhavatarini (meaning: redeemer of the universe Dakshineswar Kali Temple).

Shiva

Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. Within Shaivism he is viewed as the supreme deity, whereas in other branches of Hinduism such as the Smarta tradition he is worshipped as one of the six manifestations of the divine. Shiva is usually worshipped as the Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance. Shiva is believed to be at the core of the centrifugal force of the universe, because of his responsibility for death and destruction. Shiva is the dissolving force in life. But Shiva dissolves in order to create, since death is the medium for rebirth into a new life.

Krishna

Krishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions of Hinduism. He is usually depicted as a young cowherd boy playing a flute or a youthful prince giving philosophical direction (as in the Bhagavad Gita). Krishna and the stories associated with him appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions.He is seen by many traditions as a divine incarnation, a pastoral childhood and youth, and life as a heroic warrior and teacher.