SHREE BRAHMA – GOD OF CREATION

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Within the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, Brahma is the creator. The daily alternation of light and dark is attributed to the activity of Brahma. He has four heads and hands. Each hand is holding a tool, the Vedas (knowledge), a kamandalu and a rosary respectively. Lord Brahma's consort is Goddess Saraswati. Brahma's mind born sons are the seers Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratuj, Pracetas, Vashishta, Bhrgu and Narada. From Brahma's body came his nine sons Daksa, Dharma, Kama, Anger, Greed, Delusion, Lust, Joy, Death and Bharata and one daughter called Angaja. The four Veda's are said to have sprung from his heads.

SHREE SARASWATI – GODDESS OF LEARNING

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Goddess Saraswati is the consort of Lord Brahma and possesses the powers of speech, wisdom and learning. She is also called Vak Devi, the goddess of speech. She has four hands representing four aspects of human personality in learning; mind, intellect, alertness and ego. She has sacred scriptures in one hand and a lotus (a symbol of true knowledge) in the second. With her other two hands she plays the music of love and life on the 'Veena'. She is dressed in white (sign of purity) and rides on a Swam. Students worship Saraswati to perform well in examinations.

SHREE VISHNU – MAINTAINER OF THE UNIVERSE

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In the basic Hindu Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the Hindu god Vishnu is the preserver and protector of creation. Vishnu is the embodiment of mercy and goodness, the self-existent, all-pervading power that preserves the universe and maintains the cosmic order Dharma. Most often, Lord Vishnu is shown with four attributes or weapons. In one hand Vishnu holds the conch or Sankha. The second hand of Vishnu holds the disc or Vaijra. The third hand of Vishnu holds the 'Gada' and in the fourth hand Vishnu holds the lotus. At times, when the balance of good and evil on earth is destroyed and evil demons get the upper hand, Lord Vishnu then incarnates in a human form to set the balance right again.

SHREE LAXMI JI – GODDESS OF FORTUNE

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Lakshmi was the daughter of the sage Bhrigu and took refuge in the ocean of milk when the gods were sent into exile. Lakshmi was reborn during the Churning of the Ocean and was given to Vishnu as his wife. Lakshmi was reborn as his consort each time when Vishnu incarnated. Lakshmi is the goddess of light, beauty, good fortune and wealth. Being the consort of Vishnu, the preserving principle, Lakshmi also signifies love and grace. While Lakshmi is generally worshipped to achieve success, she does not reside long with anyone who is lazy or desires her only as wealth. She is adored by Lord Ganesha.

SHREE SHIV SHANKAR – GOD OF DESTRUCTION

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Shiva is the destroyer of the world, following Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver, after which Brahma again creates the world and so on. Shiva is responsible for change both in the form of death and destruction and in the positive sense of the shedding of old habits. Lord Shiva appears in a meditating but ever-happy posture. He has matted hair which holds the flowing Ganges River and a crescent moon, a serpent coiled around his neck, a trident (trishul) in his one hand and ashes all over his body. The Lord's attributes represents his victory over the demonic activity, and calmness of human nature.

SHREE PARVATI JI – QUEEN OF ASCETICS

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Parvati originated among the Himalayan mountain tribes. She is the youngest of the benign aspects of the goddess Shakti and also appears as the reincarnation of Shakti. She is the daughter of Himavan (the Himalayan) and Mena, a sister Vishnu and the younger sister of Ganga. She becomes the consort of Shiva and as such personifies the example of the devoted and steadfast Hindu wife. Her sons include Ganesa and Skanda, Parvati is depicted with two arms when accompanying Shiva, but four when standing alone. Her attributes are conch, crown, mirror, ornamented headband, rosary and a lotus.

SHREE RAM – KING OF DHARMA

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Shree Ram is the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the central figure of the Ramayan. The Ramayan is a complete guide to God-realization, the path to which lies in righteousness. The ideals of man are beautifully portrayed in it. Everyone should emulate those ideals and grow into ideal human beings and ideal citizens. Ram took birth to free the earth from the cruelty and sins of the demon King Ravana. Ravana had practiced austerities in order to propitiate Shiva and Brahma, who had granted him immunity from being killed by gods, gandharvas or demons. One of the gods had to take on a human form in order to be able to defeat Ravana.

SHREE SITA JI – THE QUEEN OF CHASTITY

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Sita Devi is an esteemed example of womanly and wifely virtue. Sita was an "Avatar" of Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and good fortune, who chose to reincarnate herself on Earth as Sita, and endure an arduous life, in order to provide humankind an example of such virtues. She was the wife to Lord Ram, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. When in exile with Lord Ram, she was kidnapped by Ravan, which ultimately led to the destruction of Ravan from the hands of Lord Ram. She I worshipped to seek blessings for Penance and tolerance, Devotion of truth, Fidelity in love and Power to improve upon one's self.

SHREE HANUMAN JI – THE MONKEY GOD

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Hanuman is a monkey god. He is a noble hero and great devotee of Lord Ram. He is a provider of courage, hope, knowledge, intellect and devotion. He is the son of Anjana, a female Apsara who had been transformed into a monkey by a curse, and Vayu, the wind god. It is also said that from his father Vayu Hanuman received the ability to fly. He is also called Mahaveera (the bravest) or Pavan-suta (son of air) of Bajarangbali. He is pictured as a robust monkey holding a 'Gada' which is a sign of bravery and having a picture of Lord Rama tattooed on his chest which is a sign of his devotion to Lord Rama.

SHREE BAL GOPAL – THE DARLING OF GOKUL

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Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation of lord Vishnu, is worshipped as 'Bal Gopal' in his childhood state. He was born to Devaki and Vasudeva in the jail cell of the tyrant Kansa but was delivered to Nand and Yashoda soon after his birth. Krishna spent his childhood in the midst of the idyllic beauty of Gokul, Vrindavan and Nandagram. Lord Krishan performed many divine sports (leela) as a child. He is also shown with his childhood devotee Radha. The pair symbolizes the eternal love between people and god. Kishna enjoyed the dance of love (rasa-lila) with the gopis many of whom are expansions of His own internal energies.

SHREE KRISHNA – LORD OF LOVE

Because of his great Godly power, Lord Krishna is one of the most commonly worshipped deities. He is considered to be the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Shree Krishna preached Bhagwad Gita on battlefield to Arjun. In Bhagavad-gita, he promises: "Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion – at that time I descend Myself to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear millennium after millennium." The Lord us usually depicted as playing the flute (murali), indicating spread of the melody of love of people.

SHREE RADHA JI – THE SUPREME GODDESS

Radharani is the Supreme Goddess. She is most always seen with Lord Krishna. It is described that she is the Chief Associate and devotee of Lord Krishna and topmost of all Goddesses. She is also an expansion of the Lord's energy. Since she is also an extension of Krishna, She is the feminine aspect of God. Thus, in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, God is both male and female. They are one, but Krishna expands into two, Himself and Radharani, for the sake of divine loving pastimes.

GAURI DEVI – THE SYMBOL OF PURITY

Gauri represents purity and austerity. She is the Kanya (young, unmarried) Parvati who had undergone severe penance in order to get Lord Shiva as her husband. Sita, the wife of Lord Ram, had worshipped Gauri to fulfill her desire to marry Lord Rama. Unmarried girls worship Gauri in order to get a virtuous husband.

SHREE DURGA JI – GODDESS OF MATERIAL ENERGY

Durga is an incarnation of Devi, a unified symbol of all divine forces. Goddess Durga manifested when evil forces threatened the very existence of the Gods. To destroy these demons, all gods offered their radiance to her creation and each formed part of Durga's body. Durga also obtained very powerful weapons, such as the chakra from Vishnu and a trident from Shiva. Durga killed the powerful demon Mahish and all his great commanders. When demonic forces create imbalance, all gods unite, becoming one divine force called Shakti or Durga. She is adored by married women for a happy married life.

GAYATRI DEVI – THE MOTHER OF VEDAS

Gayatri is the name of one of the most important Vedic hymns. This hymn, addressed to Lord Surya, says, "We meditate on that glorious light of the divine Surya, may he, the lord of light illuminate our minds". Originally the personification of the mantra, the goddess Gayatri is considered the veda mata, the mother of all Vedas and the consort of the God Brahma and also the personification of the all-pervading Parabrahman, the ultimate, unchanging reality that lies behind all phenomena. Gayatri is typically portrayed as seated on a red lotus, signifying wealth. She is usually depicted as having five heads with the ten eyes looking in the eight directions plus the earth and sky and ten arms holding all the weapons of Vishnu, symbolizing all his reincarnations.

SHREE GANGA JI – THE GODDESS OF HEAVENLY AMBROSIA

The Goddess Ganga, representing the river Ganga is generally shown white in color holding in her right hand a water lily and in her left hand a lute. Purans declare that the sight, the name and the touch of Ganga take away all sins and that bathing in Ganga bestows blessings of the highest order. The cremation of dead body at the banks of Ganga and the immersion of the remains of a dead in its water after cremation elsewhere is considered propitious. Gangajal, the water of Ganga is very sacred and is used for many religious ceremonies. Those who die within specified limits of Ganga, called Gangakshetra are believed to go to the heavenly world and all their sins washed away.

SHREE KALI MAA- GODDESS OF DESTRUCTION

Kali is a ferocious form of the Divine Mother, who sent her Shakti, the Mother Gauri, to free the gods from the dominion of the demonic forces Shumbh and Nishumbh. Kali is the goddess of time and of the transformatiwon that is death. Kali also is the Kundalini energy that paralyses the attachments produced by the solar and lunar currents (both demons). Kali is the first of the ten Mahavidyas – the others are Tara, Shodashi, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta and Dhumavati, Matangi, Kamala and Bagla Mukhi. Therefore Kali is also known as Adya, the firstborn. In the ignorant ones she creates fear, while far others Kali remove the fear of death.

LORD VENKATESHWARA- PRESERVER OF ALL

Venkateshwara (Venkatachalapathi of Venkateshwer) is another form of Lord Vishnu. He is also known as Balaji or Bithala. He has a dark complexion and four hands. In his two upper hands he holds a discus (a symbol of power) and a conch shell (a symbol of existence). With his lower hands extended downward he asks devotees to have faith and surrender to him for protection.

BUDDHA – THE LORD OF COMPASSION

To enlighten the world in Kaliyug, in which the true devotion to vedas was replaced by empty rituals, Lord Vishnu descended the earth as Buddha, the enlightened one. Buddha advocated the middle path, in which he offered a balanced, harmonious way of life, steering between two extremes of self-indulgence and total abstinence. Buddhism rests upon four Noble Truths – 1. Suffering is universal, 2. It is caused by desire and yearning, 3. Suffering can be prevented and overcome, and 4. Eradication of desires can lead to removal of suffering. To prevent suffering one has to conquer craving and desire and this conquest leads to the attainment of nirvana or complete enlightenment.

SHREE NARSHINGHA DEV – THE HALF LION-HALF MAN AVATAR

The special form was adopted by Lord Vishnu to kill a demoniac ruler Hiranyakashyap, who had pleased Lord Brahma with his religious offerings. Lord Brahma had given him the blessings that no known man or animal born in the natural process could kill him, that he could not die in the day or in the night, on earth or in heavens, either by fire, water or by any weapon. It was to kill such a tyrant and to remove him from the earth that Lord Vishnu assumed the form of Narasingh which was neither man nor animal, came out of a broken pillar, laid hold of the demon king by its teeth, put him up on his thighs and tore him up in the middle by his claws. It was evening time – neither day nor night.

SHREE VAMANA DEV – DWARF AVATAR

The fourth lineal descendant of Hiranyakashyap named Bali through his devotion and penance extended his authority over the three works. Once when the king was making a great religious offering, Lord Vishnu in the Dwarf Avatar of Vaman appeared before him. Bali was extremely pleased to see a holy man with such a diminutive form and promised to give him whatever he should ask. Vaman askedonly for as much land as he could measure by three steps. Bali laughingly agreed. Lord Vishnu as dwarf stepped over heaven in first stride and earth in the second stride. Then out of respect of Bali's kindness and his grandfather Prahlad's great virtues, Lord Vishnu stopped short and left him in pathal.

VARUN DEV – THE LORD OF SEAS

Varun Dev is a major Hindu god, concerned with the secure operation of the world's systems and of water. He is worshipped in southern India during ties of drought, particularly in the coastal regions where he is thought to reside in trees. He rides upon a fish or sea monster on in a chariot drawn by seven horses. His attributes are the conch, lotus, parasol, sacred thread, snake noose, trident and water jar of jewels. He is worshipped to seek blessings for success in Fishing, forgiveness for transgressions and Navigation of the seas.