what is the hindu trimurti?

Answer 1

In Hinduism, the triad of the three great gods: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Scholars consider the trimurti doctrine an attempt to reconcile different monotheistic approaches with one another and with the philosophic doctrine of ultimate reality. In trimurti symbolism, the three gods are collapsed into a single form with three faces. Each god is in charge of an aspect of creation, with Brahma as creator, Vishnu as preserver, and Shiva as destroyer; however, some sects ascribe all aspects of creation to their deity of choice. .-

Answer 2

Trimurti, meaning "having three forms", is the term applied to the three main Hindu gods: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. This Trimurti or triad represents all aspects of the Supreme Being. The Trimurti is depicted as a single-bodied, three-headed man. This symbolises the fact that the three forms are aspects of one Supreme Being. Nothing in the universe is created, preserved, or destroyed without the mutual agreement and approval of the three aspects of the Supreme Being, for they are unitedly essential for the production and reproduction of all forms of life

Answer 3

Trimurti or the Hindu Trinity (triad of Gods), comprising Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Preserver; and Shiva, the Destroyer, proceeded from the world-egg deposited by the supreme First Cause.


Brahma, the creator, is the senior most member of the trinity and the supreme eternal deity. Brahma is said to have grown in a lotus out of the navels of the sleeping Vishnu. The light and dark of the days are attributed to the activities of Brahma. In order to create the world and the human race, Brahma made a female form out of his own self. This female form was known as Gayatri. Brahma has four heads and the four Vedas (Hindu scripture) are said to have sprung from his heads.

Vishnu is a major god of the Hindu Pantheon. He is regarded as the preserver of the Universe and his consort is Lakshmi. Vishnu is portrayed as blue or black skinned and has four arms. He has a thousand names and their repetition is an act of devotion. In the ancient Vedas, the sacred literature of the Aryans, Vishnu is ranked among the lesser gods. With the development and growth of this literature Vishnu is raised to prominence and becomes the second god of the Trimurti. The concept of Vishnu as the preserver of the universe came much later in the history of Hinduism. It has its roots in two beliefs: men attain salvation by following predetermined paths of duty, and that powers of good and evil (gods and demons) are in contestation for domination over the world. When these powers are upset and the equilibrium disturbed, then Lord Vishnu descends to earth, in one of his Ten Incarnations (Dasavatar), to equalise the powers and bring back the equipoise. Of the ten Incarnations, Nine descents are said to have already occurred, the tenth is yet to come.


Avatars of Vishnu: Firstly, Matsya, which appeared as a fish, to the good king Satyavrata and his family, and seven sages and their families who escaped the terrible flood which deluged the world, drowning all its wickedness. The whole incident mirrors the Great Flood of Christian myth. Like Noah, Satyavrata escaped the alluvion in a great ark, filled with the beasts of the earth, and the birds of the sky. The second Avatar, Kurma, appeared as a tortoise, supporting Mount Mandara on his back, while the gods churned the sea for the divine nectar. Varaha, the third Avatar, appeared as a boar, to save the Earth when it had been drowned a second time. The boar went into the sea and fished the Earth out on its tusks. Narasinha (Nar i.e. man + Sinha i.e. lion) was the fourth, manifesting himself as a man-lion, to save the world from a monarch who, for his asceticisms, had been endowed with universal dominion by the gods. The subsequent Avatars were Baman, a dwarf, then Ram, hero of the Ramayan, then Krishna himself. Buddha is another Avatar of Vishnu. The tenth avatar is to be called Kalki Avatara. He will appear armed with a scimitar, riding on a white horse, and he will end the present age. After that, a whole new world will be created.

The third of the Hindu trinity of Gods or Trimurti, is the Destroyer Shiva, also known as Maheshwar. Shiva is depicted as white, with a dark-blue throat, with several arms and three eyes. He carries a trident and rides a white bull. His consort is Parvati (mother goddess). He is the fearsome naked deity accompanied by a hideous train of demons and ghosts, girdled by a serpent and a necklace of human skulls. In destruction lies the germ of new birth. Shiva - the divine creator, performs his intoxicating dance of origin, destroys all that is old and dying, and creates life afresh. As an auspicious power of creation and regeneration, he is also symbolised by and worshipped as the 'Linga' or phallus.

Answer 4

The 3 main gods in Hinduism: Brahma the creator of our world; Vishnu the preserver who sleeps with a lotus growing in his navel; Shiva the destroyer. Brahma lives 3.11 times 10 to the 14th power years. Vishnu lives 6.7 times 10 to the 23rd power years. Shiva lives 8.7 times 10 to the 34th power years.

Answer 5

It depends on the school or tradition of Hinduism that you are discussing. In general (and simplistic terms) Trimurti is Brahma - the Creator, Vishnu - the Preserver, and Shiva - the "Destroyer".

So therefore some Hindu schools would view Krishna as a specific incarnation of Vishnu. However, other schools, such as the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition followed by Caitanya which ISKCON or the "Hare Krishnas" come from, believe that Krishna was not just an incarnation, but the Ultimate Personality of Godhead (thus making Vishnu and his incarnations, as well as the other Vedic gods and demi-gods, incarnations or aspects of Lord Sri Krishna - therefore in this view the Trimurti comes from Lord Sri Krishna).

To make it simple - try conceptualizing something with no form, infinite and eternal and describe what comes to mind. It is far easier to conceptualize and image. On the other hand, Sri Sri Radha Krishna (which is Krishna and His consort Radha) gives us a nice pleasing "concrete" image to focus our devotion towards which is MUCH easier to do (the many statues and pictures are also great assists).

There are common themes for many of the schools within Hinduism that can be found in the Vedic scriptures, and such works as the Bhagavad Gita. Remember yoga originated out of Hinduism. Most people only know the physical forms of yoga, called hatha, but those techniques area actually preparatory techniques for the higher practices of the spiritual types of yoga such as jnana, karma, and bhakti. You can practice a form of hatha but it helps to be grounded and centered in some sense in the higher forms of yoga or all you are doing is stretching.

If you are interested in the yoga teachings of Lord Krishna, then one thing you may want to focus on to learn and practice in a more nonsectarian manner is the Uddhava Gita. The Uddhava Gita is a summation of the essence of the Bhagavad Gita (and the simplest and most direct practice of yoga), and so it is eminently suitable for nonsectarian, universal teaching which is the essence of Hinduism.

Here is a short summation of the Uddhava Gita which is found in the Srimad Bhagavatam (also known as Bhagavata Purana) 11.7:

EPILOGUE - LORD KRISHNA'S LAST SERMON

At the end of another long sermon comprising of more than one thousand verses, disciple Uddhava said: "O Lord Krishna, I think the pursuit of God as You narrated to Arjuna (in the Bhagavad Gita), and now to me, is very difficult indeed, for most people; because it entails control of unruly senses. Please tell me a short, simple, and easy way to God-realization." Lord Krishna upon Uddhava's request gave the essentials of Self-realization as follows:

· Do your duty, to the best of your ability, for Me without worrying about the outcome.

· Remember Me at all times. (Note that this is the point of chanting things like the mahamantra - Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Kare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare which is often chanted in kirtan or a variation of it. The whole point of kirtan and mantra is remembrance.)

· Perceive that God is within every living being. Mentally bow down to all beings and treat all beings equally.

· Perceive through the activities of mind, senses, breathing, and emotions that the power of God is within you at all times, and is constantly doing all the work using you as a mere instrument and a trustee.

I recommend the International Gita Society as they are nonsectarian, offer affordable translations of the Bhagavad Gita with commentary, and can help teach you the basics without having to spend a lot of money or submit to some guru you know nothing about:

http://www.gita-society.com/

http://www.gitainternational.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Gita_Society

They also have an online Gita study and discussion forum:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gita-talk/

I hope these are helpful!

Answer 6

bhrama ( i think thats how u spell it): the creater
shiva: the destroyer of evil
vishnu: the preserver of good