1. Hindu Mythology
Three Major Gods

2. Brahma Widely respected
Creator of the world; self born from the lotus flower
Two temples devoted in India
No cult of devotees
Four, red bearded faces
Four arms
Sarasvati: chief wife
Goddess of knowledge
Goddess of speech
Goddess of Poetry
Goddess of Wisdom

3. Brahma

4. Shiva Most popular “The destroyer”
Death, destruction, disease and dance
Trident (most common symbol)
Fertility; sexually alert (symbol of organs)
Shivaites; Shiva as ultimate reality
Worship and attend Shiva
Guru; prescribed path
Pavarati: wife
Kali (necklace of human skulls)
Durga

5. Shiva

6. Gurus

7. Vishnu Preserver Love and forgiveness Love of play; joins humanity
9-10 forms
Vaishnavites: Vishnu as ultimate reality
Lakshmi: wife (rose from ocean)
Incarnations (avatars): in order to restore moral order
Manifestations to fight evil

8. Vishnu

9. The Temple

10. Incarnations of Vishnu
Depending on local customs, the number, names and identities of avatars are sometimes changed
Matsya: fish
Kurma: tortoise
Varaha: boar
Narasimha: lion-man
Vamana: dwarf
Parashurama: Rama with an axe
Rama: Prince of Ayodhya
Krishna: black tribal
Buddha: completely enlightened one

11. Incarnations of Vishnu
Krishna
Also a supreme god
Most popular avatar
Poetry, music and art in his honor
Cult devotion-Hare Krishnas
Bhagavad Gita: epic poem
8th-9th century BCE
Arjuna contemplates going to war
Answered by Krishna, his charioteer
Poem is a conversation between them about duties in life
Reveals he is an avatar

12. Incarnations of Vishnu
Rama
Ramayana: Epic poem
Read for a month
Told orally and through literature
Plays, movies, comic books
Rama to save his wife Sita from Ravana
200 BCE in Sanskrit
Various version and regional languages
Different endings

13. Ramayana Rama wins Sita in an archery contest
Rama is obvious heir to the throne
Dasharatha forced to give throne to Bharata as to not break promise to Kaikeyi
Sita kidnapped by Ravana