Does Hindus worship 330 million gods? The number 330 million is constantly heard when any discussion regarding the gods in Hinduism take place. But the initiators of the discussion, who are mostly totally unaware of Hindu religion and wants to take a dig, deliberately skip the symbolism of the numerous Hindu gods. The symbolism of the 330 million that it represents the Brahman, which has different names, forms, activities, attributes and powers owing to differences of function. All animate and inanimate and those yet to appear is nothing but a manifestation of Brahman.
It is a known fact that it is impossible to worship the 330 million gods. But, why the number 33? In Brhadaranyaka Upanishad while discussing Brahman, Yajnavalkya is asked how many gods are there. He says that there are three hundred and three and three thousand and three gods. When the question is repeated? He says, thirty three. When the question is again repeated he says, six. Finally, after several repetitions he says ONE. (Chapter I, hymn 9, verse 1)
The number 33 comes from the number of Vedic gods explained by Yajnavalkya in Brhadaranyaka Upanishad – the eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, the twelve Adityas, Indra and Prajapati. (Chapter I, hymn 9, verse 2)
Now to this 33 was added the maximum number of zeros that the ancient people thought were the number of living beings.
So when someone mentions about 330 million gods in Hindu Religion, it consists of the person mentioning it and those listening plus all living and non-living beings. In fact, if the ancient seers were to create the same symbolism today they will be counting it in billions.
Millions or billions, it is nothing but the manifestation of the ONE God and Hindus call it Brahman.
Lord Krishna explains thus in the Bhagavad Gita
- I am the goal, the supporter, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the substratum, and the imperishable seed. (Chapter 9, Verse 18)
- I am the origin or seed of all beings, O Arjuna. There is nothing, animate or inanimate, that can exist without
- O Arjuna, know Me to be the eternal seed of all creatures. (Chapter 7, Verse 10)
27 comments:
Good post, but i am still not clear as to why the symbolism of the 330 million is represented by, "Brahman", could you please elaborate?
Brahman is the term used to indicate that which is not definable - the supreme being...who can manifest in millions of ways for devotees....
I do remember and love that conversation that Yagnavalkya has with his second wife (who is more intellectually inclined). The number he comes up with each ' So how many Gods are there?' are interesting and hold a logical symbolism to each. From 33 million to the one.
I have heard by some wise people talking about muppath mukkodi (in malayalam)gods as considered as 33%Kodi ( angle or pecentage ) is represented as percentage. Man contains 33 % godly nature, 33% manly nature and 33% demonic nature.Thiry three kodi of gods is simple expression of our own nature.
I think this article very well explains the meaning of 330 million gods. Our dharma says all of us are gods, just our divinity has to be evoked through means like tap, dhyan, and good karma. In the end, the soul inside your body and the one inside my body would become one with the supreme soul - the God.
Thanks a ton for writing such an informative article.
The figure quoted is huge. It contains many functions, characteristics and traits of deities. These are sometimes human and non-human. This shows that the concept of deity and divinity is complex and is out of the scope of a human. The human can try to understand powers beyond human capability but it is an almost impossible process.
It is also a ploy used by religion to keep the devotee enquiring about the unknown. The devotee will have questions and impressions that will not be resolved and religion fills the void and influences the individual.
I also heard from my husband about the 33 crore deities in hinduism actually being referred to the ratio 1/3.ie. human have three gunas - deva guna, asura guna and manushya guna. So the ratio 1/3= 0.3333.... actually represents the deva guna in us (or divinity) which was limited to 33 crore because crore was the limit of mathematics at that time. I was in search for some strong support to this theory in internet when I came across this article. If anyone interested to read more, you can check out this link too..
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/33-crore-gods-of-hindus-178570.html
wht about this??
BHAGAVAD GITA
The most popular amongst all the Hindu scriptures is the Bhagavad Gita.
Consider the following verse from the Gita:
"Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures."
[Bhagavad Gita 7:20]
The Gita states that people who are materialistic worship demigods i.e. ‘gods’ besides the True God.
what about this???
UPANISHADS:
The Upanishads are considered sacred scriptures by the Hindus.
The following verses from the Upanishads refer to the Concept of God:
"Ekam evadvitiyam"
"He is One only without a second."
[Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]1
"Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah."
"Of Him there are neither parents nor lord."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]2
"Na tasya pratima asti"
"There is no likeness of Him."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]3
The following verses from the Upanishad allude to the inability of man to imagine God in a particular form:
"Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam."
"His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]4
And this???
Yajurveda
The following verses from the Yajurveda echo a similar concept of God:
"na tasya pratima asti
"There is no image of Him."
[Yajurveda 32:3]
"shudhama poapvidham"
"He is bodyless and pure."
[Yajurveda 40:8]
"Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste"
"They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements" (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). "They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti."
[Yajurveda 40:9]
Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.
The Yajurveda contains the following prayer:
"Lead us to the good path and remove the sin that makes us stray and wander."
[Yajurveda 40:16]
"Na tasya Pratima asti"
"There is no image of Him."
[Yajurveda 32:3]
Brahma is Almighty God who has four heads with each head having a crown.
According to veda, how it is possible???
"Na tasya Pratima asti"
"There is no image of Him."
[Yajurveda 32:3]
Vishnu among Hindus, is that of a God who has four arms, with one of the right arms holding the Chakra, i.e. a discus and one of the left arms holding a ‘conch shell’, or riding a bird or reclining on a snake couch.
According to veda, how it is possible??
This is a good question, why we Hindus imagine some form of God. Advita is the highest form of philosophy, which talks about Soul and Super Soul and their reunion through realization. However, it is difficult to meditate and perceive infinity Almighty, who is beyond space- time-causation- the Sat-Chit-Ananda. That is the reason, we imagined a form and meditate on HIM/HER. However, to make sure that these forms are not bound by our three dimensional materialistic world, we add several other dimension by way of adding extra hand and heads. Then their are several deities, who are mortal like us but as a realized soul enjoy the status of God. Hinduism, as a philosophy (its not a religion in true sense), believe in one God and oneness. It is not true that in ancient time, the counting system was up to Crore. On the contrary, from the day of Brahamha (the creator or Prajapati), age of present universe is estimated to be 8.7 billion year, which is close the value (~14 billion) calculated by the modern day physicist.
Upanishad 6:2:1 mentioned:" EKAM EVADITYAM" It means “He (GOD) One only without second".
and in various scriptures telling that worship only one god,do not make his statues,pictures etc.Then how its came.I have lots of proof worship only one god.
haha i think the comments section here has been infiltrated by the fanatic followers of dr. zakir naik - a man who claims to respect hinduism but then calls for the killing of non muslims (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMAZR8YIhxI).
thanks for posting this. i also wrote something addressing polytheism. it actually exists in other religions also: http://dharmadeen.com/2011/02/28/polytheism/
‘The one’ that our friends repeat above becomes two, namely ‘power’ and ‘time’. The ‘time’ is mentioned as ‘samvatsara’ for example in the Upanishad. It has twelve aspects symbolically referred to Vedic thoughts as the months. Then the time elements combined with the ‘power’ produces eleven energy currents (five direct, five indirect and one cumulative) and eight ‘covering’ elements. The covering elements (if I may say so for lack of a better word in English) are earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and ego. These covers are collectively called ‘Vasu’ in Sanskrit (from the same root comes ‘vastra’, with which covers one’s body). The eleven ‘energy currents’ are collectively called ‘rudra’ in Sanskrit because when they leave the body it makes the survivors cry. The twelve aspects of time are called ‘Aditya’, the power as ‘Indra’ and the ‘one’ as the ‘Prajapati’. Thereby we get the 33 ‘parts’ into which the ‘source’ gets multiplied. They are 1 Prjapati, 1 Indra, 12 Adityas, 11 Rudras and 8 Vasus totaling 33. This is the ‘meaning’ of the conversation that has been described in the scriptures.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Very interesting. The concept of Brahman is still under discussion. It is hard to really put a definite tag on it as some teachers have even said that the concept of Brahman is a gateway to understand Quantum Physics with the Brahman representing the Quantum Field.
With Akash, meaning Ether and also another name for Vishnu, some say that Brahman is the eternal space that all consciousness is within ie you, an ant, the world, the universe(s). All is within this infinite and unbreakable Brahman...
Sanatana Dharma is amazing...
Yes, Sanatana dharma is indeed amazing. The concept of Brahman is simple but that does not mean it is easy to fully fathom. The ‘Atman’ is ‘Self’ and the ‘Brahman’ is literally ‘Super Self’. Aakasha or space (some times referred to also as ‘ether’) is just one among the five elements (pancha bhootas), but as the word ‘vishnu’ means ‘all pervading’ it can ‘describe’ the eternal speace or aakasha too. It is only consciousness that is the essence and source of everything. The ‘ma’ in the Sanskrit word ‘Atma’ (Atman in English) and the ‘ma’ in Brahma (not to be confused with the creator, Lord Brahma) anglicised to ‘Brahman’ is the same as ‘consciousness’. There is no difference between ‘Atman’ and ‘Brahman’ in essence therefore, as proclaimed by Upanishads.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
thank u
request ---every human every soul either good or bad ,angle or evil ,sinner,demon , god or devil every one want to live as a good humanbeing --please save
------------------requests to all to request and pray, enemities,quarrels ,old evil (bhudhi) intelligence of sins like vengeances , kama (so far which are the cause for every bad happenings ),enemities to destroy,spoiling others, hates for others all bad wisedom, bad evil thoughts, be change to good & noble and betterment for others, intelligence not commiting sins and not doing bad for others,.and save every soul ,grand soul, humans , balas in back bones , kundlani power , every molecules of humans .
I find in our posts that it is difficult to distinguish opinion/ fancy/ delusion from what scriptures actually teach (whether Gita or Upanishads or Vedas).
Also, bits of Sanskrit are quoted and I am told they come from one of the Vedas or Upanishads or Gita itself, but I cannot find these quotations when I look in the scriptures concerned.
Please, from now on, could we have only opinions that are backed by actual quotations from the scriptures, with the exact references, so that they can be checked for authenticity?
In the Bhagavadgita, Shri Krishanji tells Arjun to kill with detachment. Of course, that is for the purpose of making sure that the eldest rules the kingdom. But does the concept of nishkama karma also apply to any other kind of killing? Can one kill a cow or a deer if one is detached?
Is it acceptable to lie with detachment? Cheat with detachment? Have sex with someone who is not your wife, provided it is done with detachment (as, for example, in Tantra)?
If "badness" lies not in the deed but in how the deed is done, what are the marks or signs by which I can know if I am detached or not? Humans are famous for self-deception....
Where and how is sin or bad karma defined?
Thanx for the post yaar........ very informative.......
cheers
The 330 Million Gods in Hindu Religion is based on the saying Aham Brahmasmi, According to hinduism every "JAD" & "Chetan" is god's creation and has god in it and thus shall be respected. The significance of 330 Million gods can be drawn from here. While Vedas and other Purans and Upanishads preach peace and Kindness for each and everyone(Including Non Living & Dead) Quran unfortunately on other hand teach about killing of all those do not beleive in Allah. Just apply reasoning and Logic of Justice and you will find out which religion is better or real. Islam & prophet suffered from in security and taht could be only reason why they focussed so much on spreading their religion even by taking violence(Which is against basic principal of Justice, Logic & Humanity)
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