33 crores or 33 types : a dichotomy of Indian gods.

India is a land of diversity and we as the citizens of this country feel proud for it. Our beloved country India often regarded as the land of God i.e deva bhumi and India as a country is a typical example of diversity of religion in the world . In this article you are going to read about religious diversity theory within Hinduism . In our country we can find not only outward diversity but inward diversity also. Here we can find various sub sects of a particular religion and various conflicting theories . Here one can take the example of Islam and can find there are different  division of muslims among them like shia sunni , Ashraf etc but a beautiful fact of Islam is that even after their segmentation in various sects they  follow the concept of one God (may be paths are different). This practice of monotheism binds them with a common emotional thread and makes them more familiar with each other. But on the other side of one takes the Hinduism ,Hola ,there are numerous god in Hinduism and it is said Hinduism has 33 crores of Gods !!!

  

   33crores ... this is a misinterpretation of our sacred scriptures and gradually followers also adopted the same . Can anyone kindly mention those 33crores names ? Which is now a matter of mockery by some .   It is also seen that some self proclaimed babas also claimed that they are God . How's amazing . #HUMME TOH APONO NE LUTA .....but we have to understand what is the logic behind that dichotomy , what is the actual meaning of that number 33?

  

  Let's begin from the start......

   The adi Sanatana Dharma which is now called as Hindu dharma also preaches the path of monotheism i.e following of single god who is the Bramhan. Even Adi Shankaracharya has denied the Hindu Trinity theory and was preached the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. But some were knowingly or unknowingly misinterpreted the Hindu concept of TRAYASTRIMSATI KOTI.

  Atharva Veda hymn reads as,

   Yasya trayastrinshad deva ange sarva samaahita, skamma tam bruhi katamah swideva sah.  which means with god's influence these thirty three (supporting devta) sustain the world.

 In sanskrit the word KOTI has two meanings --

  Koti- types and koti- crore

    Here the dichotomy arose and 33 types mistakenly referred as 33 crores.

    According to scriptures the 33 types are like ,

1. Eight vasus 2. Eleven Rudras 3. Twelve Adityas 4.Indra and Prajapati ( Brihadaranyak Upanishad)

@The eight Vasus-

    Earth ,water,fire,air,ether,moon, Sun and star and these are the abode of all existence.

@the eleven Rudras-

Ten vayus+ soul I.e prana,apana,vyana,sammana,udana,naag,kurma,krikal, devadatta and Dhananjaya.

 Rudra means one who makes a person weep so when these Rudras leave from the body a living body becomes a dead body.

@The twelve Adityas-

The twelve months of the year which influence the twelve zodiac signs.

@Indra means the source of energy and Prajapati means sacrifice .

 And finally by combining all the above a life can be formed and sustained.

 So the crux is there is only one God, the supreme being like the prime minister which later manifests himself  into other like the cabinet ministry . All Jeevatma are the part of that Paramatma which was described by Adi Shankaracharya as Ahm Bramhasmi.

   

 So the summary of this article is every word has it's specific meaning and be used in differently in different perspective and we have to know the correct meaning of these word and by this we can be able to unearth the hidden facts of our scriptures and also other things . One cannot deny the fact that Religion is an indispensable part of human life so we have to follow it with clarity not in a blind way.

  Atlast remember one thing that we the Bhartiyas  have the blessings from all religions because we believe in the tag line i.e SARVA DHARMA SAMBHAV.

 

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