Epics and legendarium of India: Who is the most popular Hindu god?
Got to know that there are millions of Hindu Gods, so was just wondering who is the most worshipe... More
Anonymous
The popularity of gods varies from region to region. There are 3 main gods in Hindu pantheon who have a national level presence in decreasing order of popularity (purely anecdotal):
There are 3 main fundamental groups of Hindus based on these gods - Vaishnavism(follow Vishnu), Shivism (follow Shiva) andShakthism (follow Shakthi). All other gods are made in connection with these 3.
Shiva is more of tropical type and loves to be bathed in water/milk all the time. He has very minimal dressing and is more of an ascetic.
Vishnu is more of a temperate god and gives more importance to dressing than the ritual bathing. Vishnu is usually represented in rich garments and gold/diamond jewelry.
In Southern India - Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, being tropical, Shiva family is the more popular form. In Maharashtra Ganesh is quite popular and in Tamilnadu Karthikeya is well celebrated. Since 1950s, in Andra Pradesh (when the main Vishnu temple of Tirupati was transferred from Tamils in exchange of the metropolis of Madras), Vishnu has grown more in popularity.
In Northern & Western India - especially Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana, the temperate god of Vishnu (with his forms Rama and Krishna) is more popular.
In Eastern India - especially West Bengal and Assam, Shakthi worship is more popular.
- Vishnu and his main incarnations Rama &Krishna. Auxiliary gods: Hanuman(Rama's favorite assistant), Lakshmi(Vishnu's wife).
- Shiva. Auxiliary gods: Ganesh andKarthikeya (Shiva's sons).
- Shakthi and her main incarnations Durga& Kali.
There are 3 main fundamental groups of Hindus based on these gods - Vaishnavism(follow Vishnu), Shivism (follow Shiva) andShakthism (follow Shakthi). All other gods are made in connection with these 3.
Shiva is more of tropical type and loves to be bathed in water/milk all the time. He has very minimal dressing and is more of an ascetic.
Vishnu is more of a temperate god and gives more importance to dressing than the ritual bathing. Vishnu is usually represented in rich garments and gold/diamond jewelry.
In Southern India - Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, being tropical, Shiva family is the more popular form. In Maharashtra Ganesh is quite popular and in Tamilnadu Karthikeya is well celebrated. Since 1950s, in Andra Pradesh (when the main Vishnu temple of Tirupati was transferred from Tamils in exchange of the metropolis of Madras), Vishnu has grown more in popularity.
In Northern & Western India - especially Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana, the temperate god of Vishnu (with his forms Rama and Krishna) is more popular.
In Eastern India - especially West Bengal and Assam, Shakthi worship is more popular.
That's a tough one. I guess the top contenders would be, in no particular order -
1. Hanuman -
He is the son of the Wind God and Prince of the monkeys. He is considered very powerful, especially against dark forces such as ghosts, demons and their ilk. His prayer, Hanuman Chalisa, is considered extremely potent against dark spirits that interfere with the human world.
and
2. Ganesha -
He is the son of Lord Shiva, the destroyer of worlds and the Goddess Parvati. He is worshipped across India and its considered auspicious to pray to him before embarking on a new venture.
1. Hanuman -
He is the son of the Wind God and Prince of the monkeys. He is considered very powerful, especially against dark forces such as ghosts, demons and their ilk. His prayer, Hanuman Chalisa, is considered extremely potent against dark spirits that interfere with the human world.
and
2. Ganesha -
He is the son of Lord Shiva, the destroyer of worlds and the Goddess Parvati. He is worshipped across India and its considered auspicious to pray to him before embarking on a new venture.
the mythology is vast and complicated based on various vedas and puranas...you see, lord Vishnu is 2nd of the trinity who's the maintainer/preserver of the cosmos and 9 of his AVATARS(the 10th is yet to come) descended on earth to annihilate evil forces time to time...the 7th and 8th avatars, that are Ram and Krishna, who were infact the central characters of the greatest epics of hinduism, i.e ramayan and mahabharata respectively, are undoubtedly two of the most popular gods who are worshipped although ram might not feature in the top 5 as far as popularity is concerned but his re incarnation, krishna who's also considerd the most important avatar of all is undisputed in the list.
Always giving him tough challenges is the son-father duo of Ganesha(the widely worshipped god in all kinds of hindu tradition) and lord Shiva,the 3rd in the order of the trinity(the destroyer,transformer) and than there is hanuman, the powerful demi god, who's also the greatest devotee of ram.
Shakti, the supreme mother, has her own forms and lakshmi, being one of them, the goddess of wealth, prosperity and success is also tremendously popular and worshipped all over.
Always giving him tough challenges is the son-father duo of Ganesha(the widely worshipped god in all kinds of hindu tradition) and lord Shiva,the 3rd in the order of the trinity(the destroyer,transformer) and than there is hanuman, the powerful demi god, who's also the greatest devotee of ram.
Shakti, the supreme mother, has her own forms and lakshmi, being one of them, the goddess of wealth, prosperity and success is also tremendously popular and worshipped all over.
That's two different questions there. Most popular and most worshipped. The most popular deity is undoubtedly Ganesha. You'll see images and small shrines of Ganesha everywhere. He's probably the only deity who's popularity is pan-India. Every Hindu household, regardless of their personal preferences, probably has an image of Ganesha. Temples dedicated to other gods usually contain a small Ganesha shrine too. According to the traditional Puja protocol, Ganesha is invoked and worshipped first.
As for most worshipped (as the primary deity), this is more complex. This will probably vary widely, depending on who you ask, but based on number of temples dedicated to them, the top contenders are probably Shiva, Vishnu, and Devi.
As for most worshipped (as the primary deity), this is more complex. This will probably vary widely, depending on who you ask, but based on number of temples dedicated to them, the top contenders are probably Shiva, Vishnu, and Devi.
The Hindu religion is grounded on 3 basic philosophies.
- The creator - Brahmha
- The preserver - Vishnu
- The destroyer - Shiva
Brahmha, the creator is not widely worshiped as a god, but there are temples devoted to him in India
Vishnu the preserver came to the rescue of earth and that of other life on earth using various avatars (yes, the meaning is the same, reincarnation). He has already donned 9 of the 10 avatars, and as per the Hindu scripture, the last avatar will appear thousands of years later when we need him most. These avatars are recorded into various yugas (a time span spanning thousands of years). Some of the avatars are now worshiped widely. A couple of notable ones are Krishna and Rama.
Shiva the destroyer along with his son Ganesh are also worshiped widely
Other gods worshiped are Hanuman, the escort of Rama, Balaji, goddesses such as Kali, Durga, Laxmi, Saraswati and so on
Each of the 33 crore gods and goddesses (330 million) have their own story and only a few of them are worshiped widelwidel
- The creator - Brahmha
- The preserver - Vishnu
- The destroyer - Shiva
Brahmha, the creator is not widely worshiped as a god, but there are temples devoted to him in India
Vishnu the preserver came to the rescue of earth and that of other life on earth using various avatars (yes, the meaning is the same, reincarnation). He has already donned 9 of the 10 avatars, and as per the Hindu scripture, the last avatar will appear thousands of years later when we need him most. These avatars are recorded into various yugas (a time span spanning thousands of years). Some of the avatars are now worshiped widely. A couple of notable ones are Krishna and Rama.
Shiva the destroyer along with his son Ganesh are also worshiped widely
Other gods worshiped are Hanuman, the escort of Rama, Balaji, goddesses such as Kali, Durga, Laxmi, Saraswati and so on
Each of the 33 crore gods and goddesses (330 million) have their own story and only a few of them are worshiped widelwidel
The word 'popularity' is being used to quantify God .... That's interesting.... !
Here is my score:
God: (supreme God)
In this century: Krishna (thanks to many Krishna awakening missions and God's charming character which is worshiped in all forms - child, lover, friend, etc)
Around 1000 years ago: Shiva (thanks to south Indian Shivait kings who built temples in and around India)
god (small letters) and goddess:
1. Hanuman (The nearest temple you'll find in India will be a Hanuman temple, popularity rise in last 500 years)
2. Ganesh (The first one to be worshiped, replaced Indra, Indra enjoyed same position of first worshiped god in Vedic time around 3000 years ago, but this position is now occupied by Ganesh)
3. Shakti (all forms)
Here is my score:
God: (supreme God)
In this century: Krishna (thanks to many Krishna awakening missions and God's charming character which is worshiped in all forms - child, lover, friend, etc)
Around 1000 years ago: Shiva (thanks to south Indian Shivait kings who built temples in and around India)
god (small letters) and goddess:
1. Hanuman (The nearest temple you'll find in India will be a Hanuman temple, popularity rise in last 500 years)
2. Ganesh (The first one to be worshiped, replaced Indra, Indra enjoyed same position of first worshiped god in Vedic time around 3000 years ago, but this position is now occupied by Ganesh)
3. Shakti (all forms)
In my opinion following are the most popular Hindu Gods ( In no particular order ):
1. Lord Rama: The only King in Indian mythology. Lord Rama is (unfortunately?) the icon of Hinduism. No wonder His name is dragged into all kinds of controversies.
2. Lord Krishna : Especially as a baby.
3. Lord Ganesha : The source of good luck.
4. Lord Hanuman : The protector.
1. Lord Rama: The only King in Indian mythology. Lord Rama is (unfortunately?) the icon of Hinduism. No wonder His name is dragged into all kinds of controversies.
2. Lord Krishna : Especially as a baby.
3. Lord Ganesha : The source of good luck.
4. Lord Hanuman : The protector.
We can't answer a question like this. Because though we worship with different names in different places ultimately the God is the same. Take for instance, goddess meenakshi of madurai or kamakshi of kanchi or kamakhya of Assam or yellamma pochamma of telangana villages or durga in kolkata or kanakadurgamma in vijayawada, it is the same god parvati or durga being worshipped with different names. that's all. Based on the local stories and fables the gods get a different name but ultimately the god being worshipped every where is the same.
Another example- when you talk about tirupati balaji or lord Vishnu he is mostly worshipped in the south a lot. In the north many worship lord Ram or Krishna who are nothing but one of the avatars of lord Vishnu. So when you are worshipping lord Ram or Krishna or any of his dashavatars it comes down to one lord Vishnu.
I don't know if this is an answer to your question. This is just what I feel.
Another example- when you talk about tirupati balaji or lord Vishnu he is mostly worshipped in the south a lot. In the north many worship lord Ram or Krishna who are nothing but one of the avatars of lord Vishnu. So when you are worshipping lord Ram or Krishna or any of his dashavatars it comes down to one lord Vishnu.
I don't know if this is an answer to your question. This is just what I feel.
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