Why does Hinduism have many deities?

Answer 1

Probably for the same reason all religions/faiths have many deities, you can pinpoint your need to one of the lesser worker bees, if the "big kahuna" of your preferred faith isn't answering the phone when you call. Polytheism and all that. The deities share the "workload" of call requests, if you will.

E.G. If you're Catholic, Press 1 for Saint Anthony to assist in the finding of lost items. Press 2 for Saint Christopher if you're taking a trip; he's the patron saint of journeys. Press 3 for Saint Jude if you've been diagnosed with a terminal disease; he's the patron saint of lost causes/the impossible. Interestingly, my mother was diagnosed with Stage 3+ cancer twice in the early/mid '80's, both times told she ahd 6 months to live. She prayed to St. Jude. She lived another 27 years from the first diagnosis in 1981 for Stage 3+ ovarian cancer.

Consider Greco-Roman mythology, too. Pray to Aphrodite/Venus for matters of the heart. Hermes/Mercury for messages. Ares/Mars for strength in war. Poseidon/Neptune for issues at sea. Pluto/Neptune handles matters of the dead.

Similar themes ring true for Native American beliefs, Nordic, Eastern European, et cetera, et cetera.

In case of Hinduism, if worshipers of two deities met. They described their deities and each person started worshiping both the deities rather than breaking each others heads. Hinduism never discarded Gods and Goddesses. Some have been with us from time immemorial (like the ascetic God, most probably Shiva, shown on the Harappan seals which are 5,000 years old). I think the avataras of Lord Vishnu also represent the assimilation of various Gods as manifestation of one. The village Gods and Goddesses were accepted as companions of Lord Shiva or manifestations of Mother Goddess Durga respectively. That is why hindus did not fight any religious war.