how many gods and goddesses are there in the hindu religion?

Question

and is it "hinduism" or just "hindu"?

Answer 1

In Hinduism, the Trimurti (also called the Hindu trinity) are three aspects of God in His forms as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Brahma - the Creator
Vishnu - the Maintainer
Shiva - the Destroyer

Some other popular Hindu aspects of God include Devi, Krishna, Ganesh, Hanuman and Lakshmi. Smarta Hindus believe that God, in whatever form they prefer, ("Ishta Devata,", i.e., the preferred form of God) can grant worshippers grace to bring them closer to Moksha, end of the cycle of rebirth. The great Hindu saint, Ramakrishna, a monist, was a prominent advocate of this view. He studied and embraced other religions, such as Christianity and Islam, and came to the same conclusion proclaimed by the Vedas, "Truth is one, the wise call it by different names." Also, "The Universal Reality is the same, but different people can call it by different names." (Ekam Sat Viprah Bahuda Vadanti)

Answer 2

Most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic religions. They recognize a single deity, and view other Gods and Goddesses as manifestations or aspects of that supreme God.
Most Hindus follow one of two major divisions within Hinduism. Vaishnavaism, which regards Vishnu as the ultimate deity or Shivaism, which regards Shiva as the ultimate deity.
However, some Hindus worship their own village goddess or an earth goddess.
It would be hinduism.

Answer 3

Hinduism is the religion and the followers are called Hindu.

There are many Gods and Goddesses in Hinduism. The main three Gods are Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the Destroyer). They have consorts or wives Brahma has Sarawathy (the Goddess of knowledge), Vishnu has Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth) and Shiva has Parvathi (known by so many names).

The Gods and Goddesses are know by many names depending on the situation. It is very complex and makes fun reading.

Answer 4

Hinduism is a polytheistic monotheism = many gods and goddesses that all represent one God.

People often think that there are millions of gods/goddesses in the Hindu religion, but actually there are millions of "devas" - celestial beings ("devas" is translated into English as "gods" or "deities" or "spirits" - but there is no fully correct translation). It is said that there are as many as 330 million devas. But it is incorrect to say that Hinduism has 330 million "gods".

There are three main deities in Hinduism: Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), and Shiva (destroyer) - which create the Trimurti (Trinity). They are each a different representation of the Brahman.

The religion is Hinduism.
One who practices this religion is a Hindu.

Answer 5

Besically 'God' in hinduism (that is The followers of veda- vedic dharma ) is not a single entity. It is a supreme power that rules over one perticular factor in the human's world. one rules water, another rules night creatures, some others rules over body etc.
One veda puts the number to 33. But we have come some thousands of years ahead in time, and today's hindu believes (repeat -believes) The number stands to 330 million roughly.
Followers of Hinduism are 'hindu's

Answer 6

Hindu religion is often labeled as a religion of 330 million gods. This misunderstanding arises when people fail to grasp the symbolism of the Hindu pantheon. According to the Hindu scriptures, living beings are not apart from God, since He lives in each and every one of them in the form of atman (BG 10.39). Thus each living being is a unique manifestation of God. In ancient times it was believed that there were 330 million living beings. This gave rise to the idea of 330 million deities or gods. Actually, this vast number of gods could not have been possibly worshipped, since 330 million names could not have been designed for them. The number 330 million was simply used to give a symbolic expression to the fundamental Hindu doctrine that God lives in the hearts of all living beings.

And it is just Hindu

Answer 7

Hindu is the most flexible religion in the world, i must say. This flexibility reflects in gods as well. many a times one finds different gods and godesses in different region. Even not known at other places. e.g. one often finds a godess called "waghai" (wagh=tigre, aai=mother/godess). in states like maharashtra, where tigres are present. waghai saves people from tigres. Where as in the state like kerala, tigres are not present in large quantity, so residents of kerala often don't know the godess. Similar is the story about other gods and godesses. It has been mentioned in ansient literature that there are 33 crores of gods and godesses(Not in vedas, in the literature that has been written centuries after vedas). The gods worshiped all over india is a comparitively shorter list. it includes shiva, ganesh, ram, krishna, saraswati, lakshmi, hanuman etc.

Name of the religion : 'Hindu'
A person who follows it: 'Hindu'
The hindu thoughts, philosophy: 'Hindutva' or 'Hinduism'

Answer 8

tooo many to count. But there are three main ones. brahma, vishnu and mahesh. even though this is a polytheistic religion, it is said that there is one main god. Others played key roles in different events. Many gods in hinduism are reincarnations of the three above. eg

The well known Incarnations of Vishnu are:

Matsya (The Fish)
Kurma (The Tortise)
Varãha (The Boar)
Narasimha (The Man Lion)
Vãmana (The Dwarf)
Parshurãm
Rãm
Krishnã
Balarãma
Buddhã
Kalki
(http://www.nadanam.com/general/g_dashavatar.htm)

Answer 9

This website has information on the main Hindu gods and goddesses. There's a total of ten in total.

Answer 10

Hinduism... is the oldest religion... and it has lot of books.. like vedas and the puranas and the upnishads.

Brahma is the Creator.
Vishnu is the Protector.
Shiva is the Destroyer.

and there is one who created these three mighty Gods...

However the books are quite secret about the Mightiest God and nowhere his appearance been mentioned anywhere.. no statue... Very Mysterious.