1. Hindu Gods

2. The Trimurti (trinity) and Shaktis (female aspects)
Brahma
Saraswati
The Creator
Vehicle: swan
4 heads, 4 arms, reddish complexion
Not commonly worshipped
Goddess of knowledge, music, and the arts
Vehicle: swan
Wife of Brahma
Sits on a white lotus playing a veena
Daughter of Shiva and Durga

3. Vishnu Lakshmi The Preserver Goddess of wealth and prosperity
Vehicle: garuda (bird)
4 arms, blue-ish complexion, rests on a snake
Incarnate 9 times with one more to come (animal or human)
Main god of Vaishnavism
Goddess of wealth and prosperity
Vehicle: owl
Wife of Vishnu
Usually shown giving coins and flanked by elephants
Means “good luck”

4. Shiva Parvati The Destroyer/Transformer The Divine Mother
Vehicle: bull
Matted hair, third eye, blue throat, trident in hand
Main god of Saivism
Possibly most complex of deities
The Divine Mother
Vehicle: lion
Reincarnation of Shiva’s first wife
Many forms, often shown with Saraswati and Lakshmi as the tridevi