India is religiously diverse nation in the world and in this country religion plays a fundamental role in the lives of most Indians. The country is unique in a way that eighty percent of the people in India follow Hinduism. This ancient religion is polytheistic in character. Though, the Hindus declare that there is only one Supreme Being and He is the God of all religions. Hindus view cosmic activity of the Supreme Being as comprised of three tasks: creation, preservation, and dissolution and recreation. Thus, Hindus associate these three cosmic tasks with the three deities, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Thus the conception of Hindu Gods arose out of these beliefs.
Hindus throughout history have formulated many different names and forms for the Divine or Eternal. Among the various Hindu Gods, Lord Brahma brings forth the creation and represents the creative principle of the Supreme Being. Lord Vishnu is the representative of the universe and the eternal principle of preservation. Lord Shiva represents the principle of dissolution and recreation. The Hindu Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the main worshipped God in Hinduism.
However, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are not three independent Hindu Gods, they represent the same power as the Supreme Being, but are entitled with three different aspects. According to scriptures, Hindu religion has labelled about 330 million gods. All living beings are not apart from God and each and every one of them come in the form of atman. The number 330 million is a symbolic expression to the fundamental Hindu doctrine that represents that God lives in the hearts of all living beings. The Gods of India also include Ganesha, Jagannath, Hanuman, Indra, Agni, Varuna and Kartikeya.
Hindus have assigned many names to the Hindu Gods since time immemorial. The practise of giving many names indicates an intimate knowledge of the religion itself. The different deities of Hinduism reflect such an intimate realization of the Divine. Moreover, the different names of the different Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism represent various functions of this One Supreme Divinity. A Hindu god represents a particular aspect of the Supreme Being. For example, Saraswati represents the learning and knowledge aspect of the Supreme Being. Thus, if a Hindu wants to pray for acquiring knowledge and understanding, he prays to Saraswati. Just as sunlight cannot have a separate and independent existence from the sun itself, a Hindu deity does not have a separate and independent existence from the Supreme Being.
It can be rightly termed as Hindu worship of the Hindu Gods is a monotheistic polytheism and not simple polytheism. The Hindu scriptures eloquently described the qualities of God as all-knowing and all powerful. Hindu Gods are the personification of justice, love and beauty. Rig Veda puts forth about the Vedic gods such as eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Adityas, Indra and Prajapathi, being the Gods of earth, the heavens and the space respectively. In addition to that the main Hindu Gods can be broadly classified as Saiva Gods or Siva, His consort, His sons and His other forms, Vaishnava Gods or Vishnu, His consort and His various avatharams and Sakthi or Saktha, Forms of Goddess Sakthi.
