Kooner | Punjab Culture

HINDU GOD VISHNU AND GODDESS LAXMI-

Vishnu is one of the three main gods in Hinduism. Vaishnavas believe that Vishnu is the highest God. Vishnu is the preserver god, which means he protects the earth from being destroyed and keeps it going, according to this religion, and he has come to earth in nine forms (called avatars) so far, with one yet to come. His most famous forms are Rama and Krishna. Vishnu’s wife is Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of fortune.Vishnu is usually shown with light blue skin and four arms.

Vishnnu is the Supreme God in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God. He is exalted as the highest God in Śruti like the Taittiriya Shakha and the Bhagavad Gita.

The Vishnu Sahasranama declares Vishnu as Paramatma (supreme soul) and Parameshwara (supreme God). It describes Vishnu as the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master of—and beyond—the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within.

In the Puranas, Vishnu is described as having the divine colour of clouds (dark-blue), four-armed, holding a lotus, mace, conch and chakra (wheel). Vishnu is also described in the Bhagavad Gita as having a ‘Universal Form’ (Vishvarupa) which is beyond the ordinary limits of human perception.

The Puranas also describe each of the Dasavatara of Vishnu. Among these ten principal avatars described, nine have occurred in the past and one will take place in the future, at the end of Kali Yuga. In the commentary of creator Brahma in Vishnu Sahasranamam, he refers to Vishnu as “Sahasrakoti Yuga Dharine”, which means that these incarnations take place in all Yugas in cosmic scales. The Bhagavad Gita mentions their purpose as being to rejuvenate Dharma and vanquish negative forces as also to display His divine pastimes in front of the conditioned/fallen souls. In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshiped directly or in the form of his ten avatars, such as Rama and Krishna.

The Trimurti (English: ‘three forms’; Sanskrit: trimūrti) 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.” These three deities have been called “the Hindu triad” or the “Great Trinity”. Of the three members of the Trimurti, the Bhagavata Purana, which espouses the Vaishnavite viewpoint, explains that the greatest benefit can be had from Vishnu.

The matchless hero who held the fate of the emperors in the palm of his hand but himself never desired a throne. The great hero who was born in a prison and died in solitude in a forest. He gave the world the Bhagavadgeetha. He is the architect of Dharma who lives forever in the hears of the people of India.

Krishna was the Eighth Avatara  of Vishnu  in Hinduism.Krishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism  in a variety of perspectives. While many Vaishnava groups recognize Krishna as an avatar of Vishnu, other traditions within Krishnaism  consider him to be svayam bhagavan, or the Supreme Being.

King Kamsa was ruling over Dwarka, in [Gujarat], India). His sister Devaki was married to Vasudev. Kamsa was very cruel and made his people miserable. At the time of Devaki and Vasudev’s marriage, a voice came from sky that their eighth son would kill Kamsa. Hearing
this, Kamsa imprisoned the couple at Mathura and started killing their sons one by one. When the eighth son was born, a miracle happened.The prison doors opened by themselves.

Krishna was born in a prison cell. Vasudeva took the infant outside. It was raining heavily but he managed to take him to a place called Vrindawan. He came back to prison with a newly born girl, the daughter of the king of Vrindavan. Kamsa tried to kill the girl but she slipped from his hand and rose into the sky. This way Krishna was saved.Krishna was in the mahabharata war (the fight in the battlefield of kurekshetra)to help his cousins,the pandavas.the pandavas and the kauravas were cousins in the kuru family. the pandavas loved and also were devoted to him.
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Krishna is often depicted as an infant or young boy playing a flute as in the Bhagavata Purana,  or as a youthful prince giving direction and guidance as in the Bhagavad Gita.  The stories of Krishna appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological
traditions. They portray him in various perspectives: a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero and the Supreme Being.  The principal scriptures discussing Krishna’s story are the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana.

The various traditions dedicated to different manifestations of Krishna, such as Vasudeva,Bala Krishna and Gopala, existed as early as 4th century BC. The Krishna-bhakti movement spread to southern India by the 9th century AD, while in northern India Krishnaism schools were well established by 11th century AD. From the 10th century AD, with the growing bhakti movement, Krishna became a favorite subject in performing arts and regional traditions of devotion developed for forms of Krishna such as Jagannatha in Orissa, Vithoba in Maharashtra
and Shrinathji in Rajasthan.

HINDU LORD SHIV JI-

Shiva is the God of all and is worshipped by all, from Devas( gods) such as Brahma, Indra, by Asuras(demons) like Bana, Ravana, by humans like Adi Shankara, Nayanars, by creatures such as Jatayu, an eagle, Vali, an ape, and the list goes on and on.Furthermore, people of different backgrounds and qualities worship the Shiva, with many temples having histories of even cranes, bees, elephants, (Kalahasti), spiders, snakes, worshipping Shiva and getting blessed. It concludes that the Lord, as the Supreme one, blesses anyone who worships him in sincere devotion as there is no discrimination on who the seeker is.He always finds ways to protect dharma and not allow anybody evil to triumph over good.

Shiva is the ultimate reality who is the nature of Bliss itself and all complete in Himself. He is beyond description, beyond all manifestation, beyond limitation of form, time and space. He is eternal, infinite, all pervading, all knowing and all powerful.

Shiva is one of the three main gods in Hinduism. Shiva is known as the destroyer god because he removes all evil from the world. His wife is the goddess Parvati. He has a blue neck because, according to Hindu legend, he swallowed a poison in order to save the universe. He has three eyes, the third eye is on his forehead. Shiva is one third of the Hindu trinity including Brahma and Vishnu. Lord Shiva lives in the Himalayas. Ganesha and Kartikeya are his sons.
Shiva meaning “Auspicious one”, is a major Hindu deity, and the Destroyer or transformer of the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the Supreme Being. In the Smarta tradition, he is regarded as one of the five primary forms of God.

Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Saiva). Shaivism, along with Vai??ava traditions that focus on Vishnu and Sakta traditions that focus on the goddess Shakti are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.

Shiva is usually worshipped in the abstract form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Maya, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance.

HINDU GOD GANESH JI-

Ganesha or (Ganesh) is the elephant-headed god in Hinduism. He is the son of Shiva and Parvati.

Ganesha is a very popular god of Hindus. Hindu tradition states that Ganesha is a god of wisdom, success and good luck. He is also giver of different types of favours. The Hindu tradition calls Ganesha as the Vighneshvara. “Vighneshvara” in Sanskrit language means one who is the lord of obstacles or difficulties. Thus, the Hindu tradition states that by worshiping Ganesha, one can remove all obstacle and difficulties.

Ganesha also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations.Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.

Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha’s elephant head makes him easy to identify. 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 beginning 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.

Ganesha emerged a distinct deity in clearly recognizable form in the 4th and 5th centuries AD, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. His popularity rose quickly, and he was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya, (Sanskrit: ???????; ga?apatya), who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity, arose during this period. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.