Indian Mythology
Gods and Deities
The Trimurti
The Trimurti in Hinduism is the holy trinity which consists of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. These three gods make up the are considered the most important and play the biggest role in Hindu stories. They make up the circle of life and nature with Brahma being the god of creation, Vishnu being the god of preservation and Shiva being the god of destruction. They all also are gods of many numerous things but this were their primary roles. While all three of them are important Shiva and Vishnu are considered more important because they help the mortals whereas Brahma hardly intervenes in the mortal world.
Brahma (left), Shiva (middle), and Vishnu (right) sitting together.
Shiva is one of the most important gods in Hinduism and is a part of the trimurti. His following, known as Shaivism, is second to only Vishnu, a fellow member of the trimurti. Shiva is featured in many tales and epics as he often helps with human problems and in the hindu tales when people need strength or a wish they must pray to Shiva without moving until he appears before them.
Shiva
Vishnu is one of the most important gods in Hinduism and is a member of the trimurti. He has the largest following out of all the gods which is known as Vaishnavism. Vishnu has a lot in common with Shiva as they are both regarded as the strongest of gods by their own followers, and they both intervene in mortal affairs. The biggest difference between Vishnu and Shiva would be that that while Shiva grants boons to help humans, Vishnu sends Incarnations, or avatars, of himself down to earth. The most notable of these Avatars would be Krishna and Ram.
Shiva
Vishnu
Vishnu
Brahma
Brahma is one of the most important gods in Hinduism and is a member of the Trimurti. Although he is important Brahma has almost no following amongst Hindus because, unlike Vishnu and Shiva, Brahma hardly interacted with humans and was only ever mentioned in the epics when he decides to give someone knowledge. Unlike Shiva there is no way to seek him out because Brahma is also the god of time and one day and night cycle in his realm is more than 8 billion years on earth. By the time you got the information and went back to earth everyone you knew would have died and you would be a couple million years in the future.
Nandi
Nandi is the mount of Shiva, the leader of Shivas attendants and his gatekeeper. He can appear as a bull or a humanoid body with a bull head. Although Nandi is not a Deva or Asura he is considered a god and possesses immense strength. This strength was shown when he defeated Indra, the leader of the Devas (gods), and his army so that he could complete a task given to him by Shiva
Asuras and Devas
The devas and asuras are two rivaling groups of gods who often fight each other, however despite being equal in power the Devas always come out on top because they worship the trimurti and have their backing. Their support from the Trimurti lead to the Devas helping the Humans and The Asuras opposing them. This made the Devas the "good guys" and the Asura the bad.
