How many God and Goddess are there in Hindu religion?

Answer 1

Hindus have gods called Annapurna, Ganesha, Maya, Balrama, Garuda, Ram, Bhuvaneshwari,Hanuman,Sarawati,Brahma,Indra,Shakti,Kali,Shiva,Dhanwantari,KartikaSita,Dhumavati,Krishna,Vamana,Durga,Kurma,Vishnu,Ganga,Laksmi and Matanqi.

33 million gods

THERE ARE SIX GODS AND FOUR GODDESSES IN HINDUISM:There is a Hindu belief that there are 330 million Hindu gods. This means that every Hindu can have a god, specifically designed for him.

However, theoretically, there can be just seven gods and seven goddesses in Hinduism. Practically, they are lesser.

THE BASIC HINDU GODS:

They are,

1. Indra - god of dreaming

2. Shakti - goddess of illusion

3. Brahma - god of creativity

4. Vishnu - god of stabilization

5. Shiva - God of determination

6. Shani - god of status change

7. Yama - god of compulsion

The seven gods merge to form the supreme Hindu god Brahman. Conversely, the seven gods spring from Brahman.

The peripheral gods give less control over our lives but are more powerful. They are meant to be used as a last resort.

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are main line Hindu gods. Shani and Shakti are second choice. Indra and Yama are supposed to play a role after our death only.

BRAHMAN, GODS AND GODDESSES:

All the seven gods are made of two elements viz. Saguna Brahman (facilitating force, Purusha, masculine) and Nirguna Brahman (retarding force, Prakriti, feminine). The Prakriti component of a god is what we call goddess.

THE GODDESSES:

Theoretically, there can be seven Hindu goddesses. However, the consorts of Brahma (Saraswati), Vishnu (Lakshmi) and Shiva (Parvati) and Shakti are the only goddesses. A Hindu depends on Shakti when he is totally helpless.

Shakti is considered as feminine even though it has a masculine component. This belief is necessary to prevent the seven gods merging to form Brahman, which would remove our belief in god, because Brahman is absolute fact. Thus, there are just six Hindu gods, though there can be seven.

BRAHMAN:

Brahman, though considered as the supreme Hindu god, is absolute fact and thus not exactly a god. It is considered as god because all Hindu gods are derived from it. Unlike a god, it doesn't bring about any change in our life and just opposes changes in life. Thus, it can be used only when our life is perfect.

Therefore, no Hindu worships Brahman.

Thus, there are six gods and four goddesses and a Supreme god in Hinduism. All other gods and goddesses are secondary, derived from the basic Hindu gods and goddesses.