Ancient India






Overview of the Hindu Gods/Goddesses:

Agni ~ The god of fire.
Aswins ~ twins; the day and the night.
Brahm ~ The supreme being.
Brahma ~ The creator god. He possesses 4 heads, having had his fifth head cut off by Shiva in a battle. He is often associated with the red color.
Ganesha ~ The Elephant god.
Hanuman ~ The ape god.
Indra ~ King of the gods.
Kali ~ The blood thirsty goddess. Human sacrifices have been made to pacify
her. She is pictured as wearing a garland of human sculls around her neck, and her mouth is dripping with blood.
Kalki ~ The destroyer.
Kartikeya ~The god of war.
Kubera ~ The god of wealth.
Lakshmi ~ The goddess of beauty, wife to Vishnu.
Maruts ~ The storm deities.
Parvati ~ The wife of Shiva.
Pushan ~ The god of the travelers.
Sarasvati ~ The wife of Brahma.
Shiva ~ The destroyer.
Twashtr ~ The celestial aechitect.
Varuna ~ The god of the oceans
Vishnu ~ The Protector.
Yama ~ The god of the underworld.
Other important religious personages:
Narayana is the "Primal Lord", and he is eternity.
Kalpa is the cosmic unit of time for the Hindu.
The story of Noah's ark is similar to the story of Manu and the fish.
The Vasus, personifications of natural phenomena:
Apa ~ water
Dhruva ~ polar star
Soma ~ the moon
Ahila ~ wind
Ahala ~ fire
Pratyusa ~ dawn
Prabhasa ~light
The revealed wisdom of the Hindus is called Srutis and consists of the four Vedas: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda.
Maya is the energy of the supreme beings; Shakti is said to have produced all
beings with Maya.
The four castes are:
Brahmana
Rajanya
Vaisya
Sudra
Akasa ~ earth
Bhumi ~ heaven
Patala ~ hell

Back