Hindu deities in the context of "Smartism"

In Hinduism, the conception of God varies in its diverse religio-philosophical traditions. Hinduism comprises a wide range of beliefs about God and divinity, such as henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, agnosticism, atheism, and nontheism.

Forms of theism find mention in the Bhagavad Gita. Emotional or loving devotion (bhakti) to a primary god such as avatars of Vishnu (Krishna for example), Shiva, and Devi (as emerged in the early medieval period) is now known as the Bhakti movement. Contemporary Hinduism can be categorized into four major theistic Hindu traditions: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism worship the Hindu deities Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi as the Supreme God respectively, or consider all Hindu deities as aspects of the same, Supreme Reality or the eternal and formless metaphysical Absolute, called Brahman in Hinduism, or, translated from Sanskrit terminology, Svayaṁ-Bhāgavan ("God Itself"). Other minor sects such as Ganapatya and Saura focus on the deities Ganesha or Surya as the Supreme.

Vaishnavism (Sanskrit: वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, romanized: Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu religious traditions, that considers Vishnu as the supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, Mahavishnu. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or Vaishnavas (IAST: Vaiṣṇava), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2020 estimate by The World Religion Database (WRD), hosted at Boston University's Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs (CURA), Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 399 million Hindus.

The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, and broadly hypothesized as a fusion of various regional non-Vedic religions with worship of Vishnu. It is considered a merger of several popular non-Vedic theistic traditions, particularly the Bhagavata cults of Vāsudeva-Krishna and Gopala-Krishna, as well as Narayana, developed in the 7th to 4th century BCE. It was integrated with the Vedic God Vishnu in the early centuries CE, and finalized as Vaishnavism, when it developed the avatar doctrine, wherein the various non-Vedic deities are revered as distinct incarnations of the supreme God Vishnu. Narayana, Hari, Rama, Krishna, Kalki, Perumal, Shrinathji, Vithoba, Venkateswara, Guruvayurappan, Ranganatha, Jagannath, Badrinath and Muktinath are revered as forms or avatars of Vishnu, all seen as different aspects of the same supreme being.

A pantheon is the particular set of all gods of any individual polytheistic religion, mythology, or tradition.

Durga (/ˈdʊərɡə/; Sanskrit: दुर्गा, lit. 'The Inaccessible One, The Impenetrable One', IAST: Durgā [d̪ʊrɡaː]), also known as Mahādevī(/məˈhɑː ˈdeɪvi/; Sanskrit: महादेवी, lit. 'The Great Goddess', IAST: Mahādevī, [mɐɦaːd̪eːʋiː]), and Ādiśakti(/ˈɑːdiʃækti/; Sanskrit: आदि शक्ति, lit. 'The Primordial Power', IAST: Ādiśakti, [aːd̪ɪ ʃɐkt̪i]), is one of the most important deities in Hinduism. She is regarded as the principal aspect of Adi Parashakti, the Ultimate Reality in Shaktism and widely worshipped by the followers of this goddess-centric sect, and has importance in other denominations like Shaivism and Vaishnavism.

She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars, her legends centers around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, dharma and cosmic order, representing the power of good over evil. Durga is seen as a motherly figure and often depicted as a warrior, riding a lion or tiger, with many arms, each carrying a weapon and defeating demons.

The Ram Mandir (ISO: Rāma Maṁdira, lit. 'Rama Temple'), is a Hindu temple complex in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. Many Hindus believe that it is located at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, the mythical birthplace of Rama, a principal deity of Hinduism.

The temple was inaugurated on 22 January 2024 in an elaborate ceremony led by Indian Prime Minister Modi, in which the Hindu priests performed religious rituals for prāṇa pratiṣṭhā (transl. consecration) of the deity. On the first day of its opening, the temple received a rush of over half a million visitors. The temple has a high number of daily visitors reportedly between 100,000 and 150,000. Ram Mandir become Uttar Pradesh state's top religious tourism destination drawing over 135.5 million visitors in 2024. The temple construction was completed on 25 November 2025 with an event marked by hoisting of the Dharma Dhwaja (sacred flag).

A Hindu temple, also known as a Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, Kshetram or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedicated. Hindu temple architecture, which makes extensive use of squares and circles, has its roots in later Vedic traditions, which also influence the temples' construction and symbolism. Through astronomical numbers and particular alignments connected to the temple's location and the relationship between the deity and the worshipper, the temple's design also illustrates the idea of recursion and the equivalency of the macrocosm and the microcosm. A temple incorporates all elements of the Hindu cosmos—presenting the good, the evil and the human, as well as the elements of the Hindu sense of cyclic time and the essence of life—symbolically presenting dharma, artha, kama, moksha, and karma.

The spiritual principles symbolically represented in Hindu temples are detailed in the ancient later Vedic texts, while their structural rules are described in various ancient Sanskrit treatises on architecture (Bṛhat Saṃhitā, Vāstu Śāstras). The layout, motifs, plan, and the building process recite ancient rituals and geometric symbolism, and reflect beliefs and values innate within various schools of Hinduism. A Hindu temple is a spiritual destination for many Hindus, as well as landmarks around which ancient arts, community celebrations and the economy have flourished.

Lakshmi (/ˈlʌkʃmi/; Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी, IAST: Lakṣmī, sometimes spelled Laxmi), also known as Shri (Sanskrit: श्री, IAST: Śrī), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of happiness, fortune, wealth, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvati and Sarasvati, form the trinity of goddesses called the Tridevi.

Lakshmi has been a central figure in Hindu tradition since pre-Buddhist times (1500 to 500 BCE) and remains one of the most widely worshipped goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. Although she does not appear in the earliest Vedic literature, the personification of the term shri—auspiciousness, glory, and high rank, often associated with kingship—eventually led to the development of Sri-Lakshmi as a goddess in later Vedic texts, particularly the Shri Suktam. Her importance grew significantly during the late epic period (around 400 CE), when she became particularly associated with the preserver god Vishnu as his consort. In this role, Lakshmi is seen as the ideal Hindu wife, exemplifying loyalty and devotion to her husband. Whenever Vishnu descended on the earth as an avatar, Lakshmi accompanied him as consort, for example, as Sita and Radha or Rukmini as consorts of Vishnu's avatars Rama and Krishna, respectively.

Vishnu (/ˈvɪʃnuː/; Sanskrit: विष्णु, lit. 'All Pervasive', IAST: Viṣṇu, pronounced [ʋɪʂɳʊ]), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation (sattva).

Vishnu is known as The Preserver within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme Lord who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. Tridevi is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism.

Shiva (/ˈʃɪvə/; Sanskrit: शिव, lit. 'The Auspicious One', IAST: Śiva [ɕɪʋɐ]), also known as Mahadeva (/məˈhɑː ˈdeɪvə/; Sanskrit: महादेव:, lit. 'The Great God', IAST: Mahādevaḥ, [mɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh]) and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism.

In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the goddess-oriented Shakta tradition, the Supreme Goddess (Devi) is regarded as the energy and creative power (Shakti) and the equal complementary partner of Shiva. Shiva is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. Shiva is known as The Destroyer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu.