Many Gods, but who comes first?
The common belief is that there are 330 million Hindu Gods. However, that is completely false. According to the Vedas (oldest Hindu scriptures), there are 33 Supreme Gods or "kotis" (categories).
Kotis is also known as "Crore" and many people have confused these two meanings.
The 33 Kotis (categories) are
- 12 Aditya's (solar deities that rule 12 months)
- 11 Rudras (10 vital energies of the body and 1 mind)
- 8 Vasu's (wind, water, space, earth, star, fire, dawn and moon)
- 1 Prajapati (Supreme Creator)
- 1 Indra (God of heavens, rain and sunshine
In other words, all 33 Gods are essential to every living being
Prajapati means Supreme Creator, which eventually got another name as Brahma (The Creator), Vishnu (The Protector) and Shiva (The destroyer).
The Holy Trinity stands for the cycle of life - Birth, Preservation, Death
All matter will go through different stages, known as Tri-guna. Everything is created (Brahma), remains in existence (Vishnu) and then is destroyed (Shiva).
There is one more way to look at it -
- G - Generator (Brahma)
- O - Operator (Vishnu)
- D - Destroyer (Shiva)
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Each Supreme Deity has its own avatars/ forms. Some popular examples are
- Brahma - Saraswati, Valmiki, Kalidasa
- Vishnu - Rama, Krishna, Laxmi
- Shiva - Parvati, Hanuman, Ganesha (son)
There are many avatars, but the question still remains, who comes first?
All Gods are ultimately part of One Supreme Power. The Supreme Trinity is simply different forms of the Param - Atmaan (The Ultimate Spirit)
Hinduism is Henotheistic which means - the worship of one God without denying the existence of other Gods. At the same time, Hinduism also believes in the freedom to approach God in one's own way, encouraging multiple paths.
Therefore, it all comes down to your own belief and your own path.
As Sri Krishna says:
"Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is" - Shreemad Bhagwad Gita
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