What people could not imagine gods! But the most important was usually two qualities: immortality and limitless possibilities. In one of the oldest religions that arose on Earth, Hinduism, a many-sided god appeared. At first he was alone - the creator of all things Brahma. Then Vishnu and Shiva joined him, forming a divine triad.
In the image above, all the gods of the upper pantheon are depicted with their wives (from left to right): Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati.
What was Brahma
In general, Indian affairs are understood quite hard, because in India they think differently than in Europe. All categories are different. But we will not delve into them, but let's try to look at the supreme deity - at Brahma. Oddly enough, it is far from the most revered. In India, there are few temples dedicated to Brahma, few who worship him. Even for Indians, it is quite incomprehensible. Perhaps only people from the Brahmin caste are interested in him. They honor and know him.
What is Brahma doing
Brahma, the many-faced god, heads the trimurti - a triad of deities, the other two of which are Shiva and Vishnu. Fairy tales and legends are not told about Brahma, therefore it is difficult for his simple heartbe in love. He is an abstract concept, which is incomprehensible to the simple-minded illiterate Indian. Brahma, the many-faced god, is somewhere in unknown distances and is all the time in a dream. And this is good. Because once he created the world as a single whole entity, and then he took and broke his creation into tiny pieces, and we got the world that we have now. He created plurality out of unity. And all the Indian sages who practice tapaz strive to merge with the integral absolute. It is difficult to imagine Brahma, but nevertheless, in Indian iconography, he is shown as shown in the picture with the image of the trimurti.
He has four faces. Once he fell in love with a woman and desired to see her, wherever she was. Therefore, the many-faced god has four faces to watch over his chosen one in all parts of the world.
Vishnu the guardian
Here is Vishnu - a god who has an understandable biography for everyone. And why it is needed is also clear to everyone. He must guard the world that Brahma created. Who is he protecting from? Of course, from demons. But he overcame them and lives quietly in the heavenly expanses, in his kingdom. The Ganges flows there, but not earthly, but heavenly, there are five lakes in which lotuses grow, and golden shining palaces rise. Vishnu sits on a snow-white lotus, which is placed on a golden throne.
At his feet, his wife always obediently sits next to him - beautiful, forever young Lakshmi. She is a symbol of motherhood, we alth and beauty.
And in general dark-skinned Vishnu and Lakshmi are an example of harmony in the family for all Indians. Wherever Vishnu goes, even if he descends to earth, Lakshmi is always his faithful companion.
Vishnu is not a God of many faces. This can be seen in his picture with his wife.
Acts of Vishnu on earth
Vishnu descended to earth nine times to defeat evil. The first time was before the flood. He turned into a fish and saved a pious man, from whom the human race later descended.
The second time he took the form of a turtle and helped the gods with the help of asuras (demons) to get the drink of immortality from the ocean. At the same time, the dazzlingly beautiful Lakshmi appeared from the bosom of the waters, whom Vishnu took as his wife. But the demons took possession of the drink of immortality. Then Vishnu transformed into a girl of unprecedented beauty, who had to determine which of the demons would be the first to drink this liquid. And, having received a vessel with it, Vishnu disappeared without a trace. He returned to the gods. The deceived demons rushed into battle, but they died by the thousands, and the gods, who gained immortality, defeated them. More than once Vishnu descended to earth, but the last, tenth, his arrival should destroy the kingdom of evil on earth, and then everyone will live happily.
Triple Deity
The divine triad, according to Carl Jung, is an archetype in the history of religion. The number "three" has a long history of mythical associations.
In classical antiquity, a striking example is Aphrodite, who was represented in the form of Urania (heavenly) and Pandemos (national). As well as the Muses (Aonides - song, Meleta - practice, Mnemosyne - memory). This is a very ancient, original representation. Later there were nine.
In the Roman period, the goddess of the moonthe ancients associated with the moon, shedding light in the sky, with Diana, showing purity on earth, and Hecate or Proserpina, who were associated with witchcraft and placed in Hell.
During the Capitoline period, the Roman triad consisted of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, forming a powerful family.
Fates in Greco-Roman mythology were represented by three moirae: Clotho, Lachesis and Anthropos.
In Norse mythology, the mother goddess appeared in three forms - Freya, Frigga and Skadi.
There are many more examples, but let's finish with the last two from Slavic and Greek mythology. God Triglav in Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia was depicted as a three-headed man or as a man with three goat heads. During the Christian period, all his images were destroyed. It was a three-faced deity. As was the three-faced Hecate, whose image has survived to this day. Apparently, this was one of her oldest cults.
And the last thing - this is no longer a god, but a well-known mythical creature - the monstrous dog Cerberus, who was depicted with three heads and guarded Hades.
Roman deity
God Janus – one of the oldest Roman deities, which preceded the appearance of the Greek gods in the pantheon. He was depicted with two faces. One of them was young, the other was old. Or one of the faces was male, and the second - female. His temple was built on a square in the center of ancient Rome, and inside the building stood a bronze statue of Janus. The doors of the temple were open at the timewars and closed when peace came. During the existence of the Roman Empire, they closed only nine times.
God Janus, before the appearance of Jupiter, opened the heavenly gates and released the sun, and in the evening he locked them. Its attribute was a key. He patronized all the doors, and also counted the days of the year. On one of his palms was the number "three hundred", and on the other - "sixty-five". Janus was the god of any undertaking, and the two-facedness symbolized his discretion, necessary for each new business. Only centuries later, it began to mean a negative quality - hypocrisy.
