Malcolm Rivera
The Trimurti, or the Hindu triad, is a concept in Hinduism that personifies the cosmos through three gods, each with distinct roles and attributes. The three gods are Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. Together, they represent the aspects of human existence: birth, life, and death. The Trimurti is often depicted with three heads branching from one neck, each facing a different direction, symbolising the three gods as modes of a single greater entity.
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What You'll Learn
Brahma, the creator
Brahma is one of the three gods who constitute the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity of gods. He is referred to as "the Creator", with Vishnu as the Preserver and Shiva as the Destroyer.
Brahma is considered the lord of creation in Hinduism. He is responsible for creating everything that exists and is the source of all that exists. He is closely associated with wisdom and knowledge. With his daughter, Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, Brahma created the four Vedas, the sacred texts of Hinduism. He is also associated with the creation legends mentioned in the Puranas, where he created himself in a golden embryo, or Hiranyagarbha, from which the universe originates.
Brahma is often depicted in Hindu art and religious texts with four faces and four arms, each face pointing in one of the four cardinal directions. This depiction symbolises the four Vedas, the four Yugas or epochs of time, and the four castes. The four faces have earned him the name Chatur Mukha, meaning "the one with four heads".
In some Hindu texts, Brahma is described as emerging from Brahman, the Supreme Being, at the beginning of time. He is considered the son of Brahman and a manifestation of the unknowable Brahman. Brahma is also known by various other names, such as Swayambhu, Ahankara, Prajapati, and Pitamaha, each representing different aspects of his role as the creator.
While Brahma is revered as the Creator, he is said to have lost his worshippers after telling a lie and is entrusted with creation only under the direction of the other gods. He is also overshadowed by other deities, such as Vishnu, Shiva, and Mahadevi, and is demoted to the role of a secondary creator in some texts.
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Vishnu, the preserver
Vishnu is one of the principal deities of Hinduism and is known as 'The Preserver' within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that also includes Brahma and Shiva. He is the god of preservation (sattva) and is the preserver, protector, and sustainer of the world created by Brahma.
Vishnu is also the upholder of dharma, or moral order, and is known for his benevolent nature. He is often depicted as an omniscient being, sleeping on the coils of the serpent Shesha (or Anantha-Sesha) floating in the primeval ocean of milk called Kshira Sagara. Shesha is the King of Serpents, who bears the weight of the earth on his head and survives even when the universe is destroyed. Vishnu's consort is Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune and prosperity, who incarnates herself as his consort in each of his avatars.
Vishnu is typically depicted with blue, blue-grey, or black skin, wearing extensive jewels, flower garlands, a wrapped skirt, and a large crown. He is usually shown with four arms, but two-armed representations also exist. In his four arms, he carries a conch shell (shankha), a discus (chakra), a lotus flower (padma), and a club or mace (gada). The items he holds vary, giving rise to twenty-four combinations of iconography, each representing a special form of Vishnu.
Vishnu is known for his ten primary avatars (Dashavatara), which are incarnations of himself that appear to fight evil and uphold the moral order. Nine of these avatars have already appeared, and the tenth is yet to come. The Dashavatara include Matsya Avatar, the fish; Kurma, the turtle; and Varaha, the boar. Rama and Krishna are considered to be the most important of Vishnu's avatars.
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Shiva, the destroyer
Shiva, the Hindu God, is one of the three gods who constitute the Trimurti, or "three forms", alongside Brahma and Vishnu. In the Trimurti, Shiva is regarded as the destroyer or transformer. However, Shaivas, the followers of Shaivism, one of the four major sects of Hinduism, believe that Shiva is not only the destroyer but also the creator and preserver.
Shiva is often depicted with a third eye, which symbolises higher consciousness and is also used to destroy his enemies with fire. The third eye is said to have first appeared when Parvati, his wife, playfully covered his other two eyes, thereby plunging the world into darkness. Shiva is also commonly depicted holding a trident, which represents the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, as well as the threefold qualities of nature: creation, preservation, and destruction.
Shiva is a complex deity, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities. He is regarded as both the destroyer and restorer, a great ascetic and a symbol of sensuality, and the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger. Shiva is also known by several other names, including Rudra, Mahakala, and Hara, reflecting his different aspects. As the destroyer, he is said to be dark and terrible, encircled with serpents and a crown of skulls, and he is worshipped as the paramount lord by the Saivite sects of India.
Shiva is worshipped as the destroyer because he dissolves and removes what is worn out and old, or evil. He destroys ignorance and delusion, allowing for the evolution of higher consciousness and new creation. This idea is often represented by the image of a garden that must be weeded and old matter removed to make way for new growth. Shiva is also associated with the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, as he holds a skull that represents samsara, a central belief in Hinduism.
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Brahman, the Ultimate Reality
Brahman is a gender-neutral concept, implying greater impersonality than masculine or feminine conceptions of a deity. It is also referred to as the supreme self, the absolute, the universal force, the cosmic principle, the ultimate cause of all existence, the divine being, and the Lord. Brahman is also described as the "smallest particle of the cosmos" and the infinite universe itself. It is the "Self" within every being, the "truth," the "reality," the "bliss," and the "essence" of freedom.
Brahman is present throughout the entire universe, and Hindus believe that all living beings carry a part of Brahman within them. This divine spark is known as the atman, or soul, and it is immortal. Brahman is also described as non-dual pure consciousness, indivisible, incorporeal, infinite, and all-pervading like the sky. It is the reality of all realities, the soul of all souls, one without a second, and the constant witness of the changing phenomena of the universe.
Brahman has two aspects: transcendent and immanent. In its transcendent aspect, Brahman is devoid of name and form, sex and attributes. But in its immanent aspect, Brahman is endowed with them. Through its inscrutable power called maya, the transcendent Brahman appears to be conditioned by time and space and to manifest itself as a personal God, the creator, preserver, and destroyer.
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Tridevi, the three goddesses
Tridevi, the three supreme goddesses, is a term used in Hinduism to describe the three main female deities. These are Saraswati (linked to Brahma), Lakshmi (linked to Vishnu), and Parvati (linked to Shiva). The Tridevi is the feminine version of the Trimurti, with the goddesses taking on the roles of creator, preserver, and destroyer.
Saraswati is the goddess of learning, knowledge, music, and the arts. She is often portrayed as a beautiful, white-skinned woman, dressed in white, and seated on a lotus flower. Her four arms represent the four aspects of human personality in learning: mind, intellect, alertness, and ego. Alternatively, they represent the four Vedas, the primary sacred books for Hindus. Saraswati is a very popular goddess, commonly worshipped to attain knowledge and wisdom.
Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, is the goddess of wealth, auspiciousness, purity, prosperity, and generosity. She is often depicted as a beautiful woman, seated on a full-bloomed lotus, holding lotus buds in two of her hands and a pot of gold in the third. She is flanked by elephants, symbolizing her royal status. Lakshmi's four hands represent the four spiritual virtues and the four goals of a Hindu's life. She is a very popular and powerful goddess, with representations found in Buddhist and Jain monuments.
Parvati is the wife of Shiva and the mother of Ganesha, the god of good fortune and intelligence, and Kartikeya, the commander of the divine army of devas. She is depicted as seated high in the Himalayas by Shiva's side, representing the continuity of life. In a Hindu story, Parvati created a doll from cloth, which transformed into her son Ganesha after her tears of longing touched it.
In the female-centric Shaktidharma denomination, the Tridevi goddesses take on the eminent roles of the Trimurti, with Mahasarasvati (Creatrix), Mahalaxmi (Preservatrix), and Mahakali (Destructrix) forming the triad of supreme divinity.
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Frequently asked questions
The trimurti consists of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer. Together, they represent the aspects of human existence: birth, life, and death.
The concept of the trimurti was first introduced in the poem "Birth of the War God", written in the 4th or 5th century AD. However, the idea of three gods as modes of one greater entity can be traced back to the Rig Veda, one of the oldest sacred Hindu texts, written in Sanskrit around 1500 BC.
