Trimurti

The Hindu Trinity

The Trimurti of the three Hindu Gods: Brahm,
Vishnu, and Shiva (left to right) at Ellora Caves
Devanagari
Sanskrit Transliteration trimrti
Affiliation Deva
Abode different
Mantra different
Consort Tridevi
An art depiction of the Trimurti at the
Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu.
Trimurti
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Trimrti (English: three forms; Sanskrit:
trimrti), Tri Murati or Trimurati, is a concept in
Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation,
maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms
of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver
and Shiva the destroyer or transformer."
[1][2]
These three
gods have been called "the Hindu triad"
[3]
or the "Great
Trinity",
[4]
often addressed as "Brahma-Vishnu-
Maheshwara."
Contents
1 Evolution
2 Views within Hinduism
2.1 Sauram
2.2 Vaishnavism
2.3 Shaivism
2.4 Smartism
3 See also
4 References
5 Other sources
Evolution
The Puranic period saw the rise of post-Vedic religion
and the evolution of what R. C. Majumdar calls
"synthetic Hinduism."
[5]
This period had no homogeneity, and included orthodox
Brahmanism in the form of remnants of older Vedic faith
traditions, along with different sectarian religions,
notably Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism that were
within the orthodox fold yet still formed distinct
entities.
[6]
One of the important traits of this period is a
spirit of harmony between orthodox and sectarian
forms.
[7]
Regarding this spirit of reconciliation, R. C.
Majumdar says that:
Its most notable expression is to be found in
the theological conception of the Trimrti, i.e.,
Trimurti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimurti
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Trimurti, painting from Andhra Pradesh
the manifestation of the supreme God in three
forms of Brahm, Viu, and iva... But the
attempt cannot be regarded as a great success,
for Brahm never gained an ascendancy
comparable to that of iva or Viu, and the
different sects often conceived the Trimrti as
really the three manifestations of their own
sectarian god, whom they regarded as
Brahman or Absolute.
[8]
Maurice Winternitz notes that there are very few places in Indian literature where the Trimurti is
mentioned.
[9]
The identification of Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma as one being is strongly emphasized in the
Krma Pura, where in 1.6 Brahman is worshipped as Trimurti; 1.9 especially inculcates the unity of the
three gods, and 1.26 relates to the same theme.
[10]
Historian A. L. Basham explains the background of the Trimurti as follows, noting Western interest in the
idea of trinity:
Early western students of Hinduism were impressed by the parallel between the Hindu
trinity and that of Christianity. In fact the parallel is not very close, and the Hindu trinity,
unlike the Holy Trinity of Christianity, never really "caught on". All Hindu trinitarianism
tended to favor one god of the three; thus, from the context it is clear that Klidsas hymn
to the Trimrti is really addressed to Brahm, here looked on as the high god. The Trimrti
was in fact an artificial growth, and had little real influence.
[11]
Freda Matchett characterizes the Trimurti system as one of "several frameworks into which various divine
figures can be fitted at different levels."
[12]
The concept of Trimurti is also present in the Maitri Upanishad, where the three gods are explained as three
of his supreme forms.
[13]
Views within Hinduism
Sauram
The Saura sect that worships Surya as the supreme person of godhead and saguna brahman doesnt accept the
Trimurti as they believe Surya is God. Earlier forms of the Trimurti sometimes included Surya instead of
Brahma, or as a fourth above the Trimurti, of whom the other three are manifestations; Surya is Brahma in
the morning, Vishnu in the afternoon and Shiva in the evening. Surya was also a member of the original
Vedic Trimurti, which included Agni and Vayu. Some Sauras worship either Vishnu or Shiva as
manifestations of Surya, others worship the Trimurti as a manifestation of Surya, and others exclusively
worship Surya alone.
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism generally does not accept the Trimurti concept. For example, the Dvaita school holds Vishnu
alone to be the supreme God, with Shiva subordinate, and interprets the Puranas differently. For example,
Trimurti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimurti
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Vishnu with Lakshmi, on the serpent
Ananta Shesha, as Brahma emerges from a
lotus risen from Vishnus navel.
Shiva temple, the main
shrine of 9th century
Prambanan temple
dedicated to Trimurti, a
UNESCO World Heritage
Site and the largest Hindu
temple in Indonesia
Lingodbhava murti
Vijayindra Trtha, a Dvaita scholar interprets the 18 puranas
differently. He interprets the Vaishnavite puranas as satvic and
Shaivite puranas as tamasic and that only satvic puranas are
considered to be authoritative.
[14]
Unlike most other Vaishnavite schools such as those of
Ramanuja, Madhva and Chaitanya, Swaminarayan, guru of the
Hindu Swaminarayan sects (including BAPS), did not
differentiate between Vishnu and Shiva; Swaminarayan notably
differs from practically all Vaishnavite schools in holding that
Vishnu and Shiva are different aspects of the same God.
[15]
(see
also verses 47 and 84 of Shikshapatri, a key scripture to all
followers of the Swaminarayan faith.)
[16][17]
Moreover,
Swaminarayan followed a Smarta approach (see more detail on
the Smarta view below) by instructing his followers to venerate all five deities of the Panchayatana puja with
equal reverence.
[18]
Shaivism
Shaivites hold that, according to Shaiva Agama, Lord Shiva performs five
actions - creation, preservation, dissolution, concealing grace, and revealing
grace. Respectively, these first three actions are associated with Shiva as
Sadyojata (akin to Brahma), Vamadeva (akin to Vishnu) and Aghora (akin to
Rudra). Thus, Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra are not deities different from Shiva,
but rather are forms of Shiva. As Brahma/Sadyojata, Shiva creates. As
Vishnu/Vamadeva, Shiva preserves. As Rudra/Aghora, he dissolves. This
stands in contrast to the idea that Shiva is the "God of destruction." To
Shaivites, Shiva is God and performs all actions, of which destruction is only
but one. Ergo, the Trimurti is a form of Shiva Himself for Shaivas. Shaivites
believe that Lord Shiva is the Supreme, who assumes various critical roles and
assumes appropriate names and forms, and also stands transcending all
these.
[19]
Smartism
Smartism is a denomination of Hinduism that places emphasis on a group of
five deities rather than just a single deity.
[20]
The "worship of the five forms"
(pacyatana pj) system, which was popularized by the ninth-century
philosopher ankarcrya among orthodox Brahmins of the Smrta
tradition, invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Dev and
Srya.
[21][22]
ankarcrya later added Kumara
(Muruga/Subrahmanya/Karttikeya) to these five, making six total.
This reformed system was promoted by ankarcrya primarily to
unite the principal deities of the six major sects on an equal status.
[23]
The monistic philosophy preached by ankarcrya made it possible
to choose one of these as a preferred principal deity and at the same
time worship the other four deities as different forms of the same
all-pervading Brahman.
See also
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Harihara
Tridevi
Trinity
Triple deities
References
^ For quotation defining the trimurti see Matchett,
Freda. "The Puras", in: Flood (2003), p. 139.
1.
^ For the Trimurti system having Brahma as the
creator, Vishnu as the maintainer or preserver, and
Shiva as the transformer or destroyer. see Zimmer
(1972) p. 124.
2.
^ For definition of trimurti as "the unified form" of
Brahm, Viu and iva and use of the phrase "the
Hindu triad" see: Apte, p. 485.
3.
^ For the term "Great Trinity" in relation to the
Trimurti see: Jansen, p. 83.
4.
^ For dating of Puranic period as c. CE 300-1200
and quotation, see: Majumdar, R. C. "Evolution of
Religio-Philosophic Culture in India", in:
Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1956), volume 4, p. 47.
5.
^ For characterization as non-homogeneous and
including multiple traditions, see: Majumdar, R. C.
"Evolution of Religio-Philosophic Culture in India",
in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1956), volume 4, p. 49.
6.
^ For harmony between orthodox and sectarian
groups, see: Majumdar, R. C. "Evolution of Religio-
Philosophic Culture in India", in: Radhakrishnan
(CHI, 1956), volume 4, p. 49.
7.
^ For quotation see: see: Majumdar, R. C.
"Evolution of Religio-Philosophic Culture in India",
in: Radhakrishnan (CHI, 1956), volume 4, p. 49.
8.
^ Winternitz, volume 1, p. 452, note 1. 9.
^ For references to Krma Purana see: Winternitz,
volume 1, p. 573, note 2.
10.
^ Basham, pp. 310-311. 11.
^ Matchett, Freda. "The Puras", in Flood (2003),
p. 139.
12.
^ "Brahma, Rudra and Vishnu are called the
supreme forms of him. His portion of darkness is
Rudra. His portion of passion is Brahma. His
portion of purity is Visnu" Maitri Upanisad [5.2]
13.
^ name= Sharma>Sharma, B. N. Krishnamurti
(2000). A history of the Dvaita school of Vednta
and its literature: from the earliest beginnings to
our own times (http://books.google.co.in
/books?id=FVtpFMPMulcC&pg=PA412&
dq=Varaha+sarabha&cd=11#v=onepage&
q=sarabha&f=false). Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers. ISBN 81-208-1575-0. Retrieved
2010-01-15.
14.
^ According to this site, http://www.kakaji.org
/shikshapatri_verses.asp?catid=viewAll, verses 47,
84, of their scripture, Shikshapatri, a key scripture
to all followers of the Swaminarayan faith. [1]
(http://www.kakaji.org
/shikshapatri_verses.asp?catid=viewAll) states,
"And the oneness of Narayana and Shiva should be
understood, as the Vedas have described both to be
brahmaroopa, or form of Brahman, i.e., Saguna
Brahman, indicating that Vishnu and Shiva are
different forms of the one and same God.
15.
^ Swaminarayan Satsang - Scriptures
(http://www.swaminarayansatsang.com/library
/scriptures/index.asp?idCategory=2&curPage=2&
MediaType=)
16.
^ Swaminarayan Satsang - Scriptures
(http://www.swaminarayansatsang.com/library
/scriptures/index.asp?idCategory=2&curPage=4&
MediaType==)
17.
^ An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism, by
Raymond Brady Williams at
http://books.google.com/books?id=tPkexi2EhAIC&
pg=PA25&dq=Shikshapatri+Vishnu+shiva&
lr=&cd=1#v=onepage&
q=Shikshapatri%20Vishnu%20shiva&f=false
18.
^ How can the god of destruction be the Supreme ?
(http://www.shaivam.org/shpdestr.htm)
19.
^ Flood (1996), p. 17. 20.
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^ Dating for the pacyatana pj and its
connection with Smrta Brahmins is from
Courtright, p. 163.
21. ^ For worship of the five forms as central to Smarta
practice see: Flood (1996), p. 113.
22.
^ Grimes, p. 162. 23.
Other sources
Basham, A. L. (1954). The Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the Culture of the Indian
Sub-Continent Before The Coming of the Muslims. New York: Grove Press, Inc.,.
Courtright, Paul B. (1985). Gaea: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings. New York: Oxford
University Press. ISBN 0-19-505742-2.
Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-43878-0.
Flood, Gavin (Editor) (2003). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Malden, MA: Blackwell
Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-4051-3251-5.
Grimes, John A. (1995). Ganapati: Song of the Self. SUNY Series in Religious Studies. Albany: State
University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-2440-5.
Jansen, Eva Rudy (2003). The Book of Hindu Imagery. Havelte, Holland: Binkey Kok Publications
BV. ISBN 90-74597-07-6. Eighth printing; First published 1993.
Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli (Editorial Chairman) (1956). The Cultural Heritage of India. Calcutta: The
Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. Second edition, four volumes, revised and enlarged, 1956
(volume IV).
Winternitz, Maurice (1972). History of Indian Literature. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint
Corporation. Second revised reprint edition. Two volumes. First published 1927 by the University of
Calcutta.
Zimmer, Heinrich (1972). Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization. Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01778-6.
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