A Big List of Hindu Gods and Goddesses (48+)

Jason

One God, Many Aspects

Hindus believe that there is only one god, the Supreme Soul, which is known as Brahman. Brahman is the underlying reality of all things. Everything else is unreal, false, or illusory. They believe that the reality that we live in here on Earth is not the true reality of what’s really going on, it is just an illusion. What we perceive as reality is not real. Our bodies, this earth, the sun and stars are all an illusion. And we are reborn into this illusion until we reach the goal of “moksha”, which is the liberation from repeated cycles of births and deaths, and the rejoining with the Supreme Soul in the true reality.

Early on, Hindus were enthralled and overwhelmingly optimistic about this theology, but they had a hard time with the one-size-fits-all approach to God. They wanted to worship different gods for specific purposes. So they devised a complex structure of deities, or gods and goddesses, each of which represents one particular aspect of the one true God. For example, there is a goddess of wealth, a goddess of learning, and a goddess of time. These deities are all aspects of the same God, but it provides a framework to focus our prayers, worship, and celebrations on specific aspects of God.

Pics and Statues of Gods

Pictures and statues of gods usually feature some of the following:

  • A multitude of colors
  • More than a single pair of arms. Hindu gods are typically portrayed with four arms. Sometimes even more.
  • A variety of weapons and paraphernalia in their hands
  • Different animals that serve as their transportation
  • Hand gestures like the “fear not” gesture
  • Different markings on their forehead
  • Intricate decorations

The Hindu Trinity Lineage

Hindu mythology identified three gods at the head of the hierarchy of gods. They are referred to as the Hindu Trinity. These three gods are:

  • Brahma – the creator of the universe that we know of (he has four heads and four arms )
  • Vishnu – the preserver of the universe (he is dark blue in color and has four arms)
  • Shiva – the one who destroys the universe so it can be created again

Note: Lord Vishnu does his job of preserving the world and universe by incarnating himself in different forms at times of crisis. That’s why you will see the Vishnu table below is so long because he has come to earth in 10 incarnations.

These three Lords that rule the world also have consorts that are goddesses.

The tables below show the lineage of these three gods.

Brahma’s Lineage (2 gods)

GodPictureRelationGod of What
Brahma
The creator of the universe
SaraswatiBrahma’s wifeThe goddess of learning

Vishnu’s Lineage (20+ gods)

GodPictureRelationGod of What
Vishnu
Venkateshwara, Balaji, Srinivasa, Satyanarayana, Narayana, Jagannath		The preserver of the universe
LakshmiVishnu’s wifeThe goddess of wealth and well-being
Bhu Devi
Bhumi Mata		Vishnu’s wifeThe earth goddess, Mother Earth
MatsyaVishnu’s 1st avatar
KurmaVishnu’s 2nd avatar
VarahaVishnu’s 3rd avatar
NarasimhaVishnu’s 4th avatar
VamanaVishnu’s 5th avatar
Parashu RamaVishnu’s 6th avatar
BuddhaVishnu’s 9th avatar
KalkiVishnu’s 10th avatar
RamaVishnu’s 7th avatar
SitaRama’s wife (incarnation of Vishnu’s wife Lakshmi)
LakshmanRama’s brother
HanumanRama’s monkey servant
RavanRama’s enemy
Krishna
Gopala, Govinda		Vishnu’s 8th avatar
RukminiKrishna’s wife (incarnation of Vishnu’s wife Lakshmi)
RadhaKrishna’s lover
GopisKrishna’s hoes
ArjunaWho Krishna mentored in the Bhagavad Gita

Shiva’s Lineage (8 gods)

GodPictureRelationGod of What
ShivaThe destroyer of the universe
ParvatiShiva’s wifeThe goddess of the Himalayas
SatiShiva’s wifeThe goddess marital happiness and longevity
Durga DeviRegional form of ParvatiRepresents the creative power known as Shakti
KaliRegional form of ParvatiThe goddess of time
Ganapati
Ganesha		Shiva’s son with ParvatiThe remover of obstacles
Murugan
Murga, Skanda, Kumara, Kartikeya, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (“six faces”)		Shiva’s 2nd son with ParvatiThe god of war
Kama DeviHer death sparked the birth of MuruganCupid

Vedic Gods

The gods named and described in this section are found in the Rig Veda, the earliest book of Hindu sacred scripture. They are known as the Vedic gods and are worshipped daily in households and in many temple rituals.

The tables below list the different Vedic gods.

Nature Gods (6+ gods)

GodPictureRelationGod of What
IndraThe king of heaven and the lord of the gods
Indrani
Sachi		Indra’s wifeQueen of the heavens
VayuThe god of wind
The MarutsStorm gods
RudraThe howler
VarunaLord of the waters

Sun and Planet Gods (10 gods)

GodPictureRelationGod of What
SuryaThe sun god
ShaniSurya’s sonThe god of Saturn
YamaSurya’s sonThe god of death
ChandaThe moon god, the timekeeper that keeps time of the years
Angaraka
Mangala		The god of Mars
BudhaThe god of Mercury
BrihaspatiThe god of Jupiter, the guru of the gods
ShukraThe god of Venus, the guru of the asuras (the devils, bad people)
RahuThe god of the eclipse
KetuThe comet god

Agni and Household Gods (12 gods)

GodPictureRelationGod of What
AgniThe fire god
The AshwinsTwin heavenly horsemen who heal horses and cattle
MitraA god of friendship and god of contracts
VarunaHere referring to divine law
AryamanThe personification of family honor
BhagaThe personification of ancestral share of property
PusanThe guardian of the roads and nourisher
PurandhiAbundance
MatarisvanSpark of conception
DhatarSustainer
DestriA form of Saraswati (goddess of learning) associated with easy birth

Where the Gods Reside

Hindus believe that there are three worlds that are inhabited by people and gods:

  1. The physical world – Humans live in the physical world. Gods descend to this world in some form when there is an imbalance between good and evil.
  2. The atmosphere – Here are the demigods and weather gods, like Indra (god of thunder, lightning, and rain) and Vayu (the wind god)
  3. The realm of the gods, or heaven – This is where the rest of the gods reside

Attributions for Pictures