HINDU GODS

Most Hindus are principally devoted to the god Vishnu, the god Shiva, or the Goddess. These categorical practices are sometimes described as, respectively, Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaivism (Shiva), and Shaktism (Shakti being another term for the female creative energy). The predominance of these three deities evolved over several centuries, crystallizing in the early part of the first millennium, when a renewed Hinduism centering on devotion made them increasingly popular. It is believed that each of these divinities incorporated elements of other or earlier deities that existed in the pre-Hindu context, and that express beliefs and practices existing at high and low levels of culture. Thus, mainstream Hindu deities relate to figures appearing in Vedic literature, as well as to worship practices involving nature spirits, fertility, local tutelary gods, shamanism, malevolent spirits, and ghosts.