Deities and Significance

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Hinduism is both monotheistic and henotheistic. Hindus were never polytheistic, in the sense that there are many equal Gods. Henotheism (literally "one God") better defines the Hindu view. It means the worship of one God without denying the existence of other Gods. We Hindus believe in the one all-pervasive God who energizes the entire universe. We can see Him in the life shining out of the eyes of humans and all creatures. This view of God as existing in and giving life to all things is called panentheism. It is different from pantheism, which is the belief that God is the natural universe and nothing more. It is also different from strict theism which says God is only above the world, apart and transcendent. Panentheism is an all-encompassing concept. It says that God is both in the world and beyond it, both immanent and transcendent. That is the highest Hindu view. Hindus also believe in many Gods who perform various functions.

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Devas and Devis in Hinduism:

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Ganesha/Ganapathi : Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश, Gaṇeśa; also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, Pillaiyar and Binayak, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon.

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Subramanya/Shanmuga/Muruga: Kartikeya (Kārttikēya), also known as Murugan, Skanda, Kumara and Subrahmanya, is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, brother of Ganesha, and a god whose life story has many versions in Hinduism.

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DharmaSastha (Ayyappa): Ayyappan is the Hindu god of growth, particularly popular in Kerala. He is a synthetic deity, the son of Shiva and Mohini – the female avatar of Vishnu. Ayyappan is also referred to as Ayyappa, Sastavu, Hariharaputra, Manikanta, Shasta or Dharma Shasta

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Shiva: The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver and Shiva the destroyer or transformer. 

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Parvathy: (Sanskrit: पार्वती) or Uma is the Hindu goddess of fertility, love and devotion; as well as of divine strength and power.

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Vishnu: Vishnu (Sanskrit: विष्णु) is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, and the Supreme Being in its Vaishnavism tradition. Vishnu is the "preserver" in the Hindu trinity (Trimurti) that includes Brahma and Shiva.

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Lakshmi: Lakshmi (Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी) or Laxmi, is the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity. She is the wife and shakti (energy) of Vishnu, one of the principal deities of Hinduism and the Supreme Being in the Vaishnavism Tradition.

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Saraswati: Saraswati (Sanskrit: सरस्वती, Sarasvatī) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, wisdom and learning. She is a part of the trinity (Tridevi) of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati.

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Brahma: Brahma (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मा) is a creator god in Hinduism. He has four faces. Brahma is also known as Svayambhu (self-born), Vāgīśa (Lord of Speech), and the creator of the four Vedas, one from each of his mouths. Brahma was consort of Saraswati and he was father of Four Kumaras Narada and Daksha.

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Rama: Rama or Ram (Sanskrit: राम), also known as Ramachandra, is a major deity of Hinduism. He is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, one of his most popular incarnations 

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Krishna & Radha: RadhaKrishna (Sanskrit: राधा कृष्ण) are collectively known within Hinduism as the combined forms of feminine as well as the masculine realities of God. Radha and Krishna are the primeval forms of God and His pleasure potency respectively in the Vaishnava school of thought in Vedic culture. 

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Venkateshwara: (Sanskrit: वेङ्कटेश्वर), also known as Śrīnivāsa, Bālājī, Vēṅkaṭa, Venkata Ramana, Vēṅkaṭācalapati, Tirupati Timmappa and Govindha is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara's most prominent temple is the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple located in Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh in Southern India.

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Durga: Durga, also identified as Adi Parashakti, Devī, Shakti, Parvati (primary form/name), Amba, Kali and by numerous other names, is a principal and popular form of Hindu Goddess. She is the warrior goddess, whose mythology centres around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity and dharma of the good.

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Sathyanarayana Moorthy: The Lord Vishnu in this form is considered an embodiment of truth. Vishnu is worshipped in this form in many parts of India including Gujarat, Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. 

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Hanuman: Hanumān, (Sanskrit: हनुमान्) is an ardent devotee of Lord Rama and one of the central characters in the various versions of the epic Ramayana. 

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NavaGraha: Navagraha means "nine celestial bodies" in Sanskrit and are nine astronomical bodies as well as mythical deities in Hinduism and Hindu astrology.

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Nandi: Nandi (Sanskrit: नन्दि) is the gate-guardian deity of Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. He is usually depicted as a bull, which also serves as the mount to Shiva.

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Bhairava: Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव) is a Hindu Tantrik deity worshiped by Hindus. In Shaivism, he is a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation.

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