Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva seated on lotuses with their consorts: Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Paravati respectively. ca 1770.
The Trimurti (; Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति ) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahmā the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Śhiva the destroyer or transformer."[1][2] These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" [3] or the "Great Trinity".[4] Freda Matchett characterizes the Trimurti system as one of "several frameworks into which various divine figures can be fitted at different levels."[5]
One type of depiction for the Trimurti shows three heads on one neck, and often even three faces on one head, each looking in a different direction.[6]
Contents |
Its most notable expression is to be found in the theological conception of the , i.e., the manifestation of the supreme God in three forms of , , and .... But the attempt cannot be regarded as a great success, for never gained an ascendancy comparable to that of Śiva or , and the different sects often conceived the as really the three manifestations of their own sectarian god, whom they regarded as Brahman or Absolute.[10]
Maurice Winternitz notes that there are very few places in Indian literature where the Trimurti is mentioned.[11] The identification of Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma as one being is strongly emphasized in the Purana, 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.[12]
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 's hymn to the is really addressed to , here looked on as the high god. The was in fact an artificial growth, and had little real influence.[13]
The concept of trimurthi is also present in the Maitri Upanishad, where the three gods are explained as three of his supreme forms[14]
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, Vijayindra Tîrtha, a Dvaita scholar interprets the 18 puranas differently. He interprets that the Vaishnavite puranas as satvic and Shaivite puranas as tamasic and that only satvic puranas are considered to be authoritative.[15]
Saivites hold a view similar to that of the Vaishnavites, except of course with Shiva predominating. Shiva performs four acts of creation, sustenance, reduction and blessing. Of these the latter three are nothing but the forms of the Supreme Shiva called Parasiva. Saivites 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]
ar:تريمورتي bn:ত্রিমূর্তি bg:Тримурти ca:Trimurti cy:Trimurti de:Trimurti es:Trimurti eu:Tri-murti fr:Trimūrti hi:त्रिमूर्ति id:Trimurti it:Trimurti kn:ತ್ರಿಮೂರ್ತಿ ka:ტრიმურტი ml:ത്രിമൂര്ത്തികള് mr:त्रिमूर्ति nl:Trimurti ja:三神一体 pl:Trimurti pt:Trimurti ru:Тримурти sk:Trimúrti sl:Trimurti sr:Тримурти sv:Trimurti te:త్రిమూర్తులు th:พระตรีมูรติ tr:Trimurti uk:Трімурті vi:Trimurti zh:三相神