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Hindu Gods: The Spirit of the Divine
Hindu gods serve mankind with compassion and devotion, breathing wisdom into every aspect of life. This exquisitely illustrated book presents profiles of 30 deitiesfrom the powerful triad of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer, to the colorful supporting cast of gods such as Ganesha and Saraswati. Author Priya Hemenway tells the stories of how these gods came to be, how theyre worshipped, and how they remain forever alive in the hearts of those who seek to know themselves.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published February 17, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 22, 2022
This little coffee table book interested me because it offered stories of the Hindu gods. After having lived for two years on the Indian subcontinent, I had plenty of exposure to rituals, holidays, stories and celebrations, but my knowledge of the gods was very fragmentary. This book filled in many of the gaps. It tells the story of Rama and Sita, and the journey to Sri Lanka to rescue Sita. It tells the story of Krishna and Radha, and Krishna’s frolicking among the milkmaids.
Rama and Krishna are incarnations of Vishnu, one of the three major gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the gods of creation, preservation and destruction. The Buddha is also included (from a Hindu point of view) as one of the incarnations of Vishnu. Brahma, Vishnu And Shiva are personified forms of the divine energy which in its most all-encompassing form is Brahman. In Hinduism there are many, many gods, all with their distinct forms and characters.
My personal favorite deity is Sarasvati, the goddess of wisdom, speech and creativity. As such she reminds me of the Greek goddess Athena, as well as of Wisdom, who is personified in the biblical book of Proverbs as present at the creation. Somehow I can identify with a female wisdom figure.
My only criticism of the book is that there is little documentation of sources, except of course that the stories come from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. If I wish to follow up on particular episodes or particular statements, I am at a loss as to where to look. I should add that beautiful illustrations are on nearly every page, and they are well sourced to various museums. The stories and pictures are a fascinating sampling of a rich cultural heritage.
Rama and Krishna are incarnations of Vishnu, one of the three major gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the gods of creation, preservation and destruction. The Buddha is also included (from a Hindu point of view) as one of the incarnations of Vishnu. Brahma, Vishnu And Shiva are personified forms of the divine energy which in its most all-encompassing form is Brahman. In Hinduism there are many, many gods, all with their distinct forms and characters.
My personal favorite deity is Sarasvati, the goddess of wisdom, speech and creativity. As such she reminds me of the Greek goddess Athena, as well as of Wisdom, who is personified in the biblical book of Proverbs as present at the creation. Somehow I can identify with a female wisdom figure.
My only criticism of the book is that there is little documentation of sources, except of course that the stories come from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. If I wish to follow up on particular episodes or particular statements, I am at a loss as to where to look. I should add that beautiful illustrations are on nearly every page, and they are well sourced to various museums. The stories and pictures are a fascinating sampling of a rich cultural heritage.
December 3, 2018
“Het hindoeïsme wordt door zijn volgelingen Santana Dharma genoemd, de eeuwige religie, omdat het eeuwig voortleeft in de harten van degenen die streven naar zelfkennis.” Deze levensstijl, gebaseerd op duizenden jaren van collectieve wijsheid, wordt doorgegeven in de populaire traditie van verhalen vertellen over de goden. Hindoegoden door Priya Hemenway geeft een basisnotie mee van de rijkdom van de avonturen van de hindoeïstische goden en hun voorbeeldfunctie.
November 11, 2021
Noooo no no no no no please take these stories with a SPOONFUL of salt.
Found this in the library and skimmed through it to show my friends the Hindhu stories I sometimes mentioned, and there were extreme discrepancies.
While there are certainly going to be differences in the stories depending on where and who you hear them from, these errors are massively off to the point I have no idea where the author got this information.
One example is the story of Ganesha, where she states he was built from fabric??? And completely skims over why and how he was created, and the entire incident where Shiva cuts his head off and searches for another to replace it (this is where the elephant head comes from).
Ganesha is actually made of mud, specifically the dirt rubbed off his mother's skin while she took a special type of bath involving spreading a paste that dries, then rubbing it off. This is not a minor change, because it is the reason why we make Ganesha sculptures out of mud for the annual Pooja in his name. The cutting off of the head of a baby elephant, whose mother had been facing the opposite direction as they slept, is the reason we have a superstition that mother's should not sleep facing away from their child.
While the barebones of the gods are accurate, many of the details that are important to our religion and traditions are omitted or altered, so please don't use this book as your guide to Hindhu mythology!
Found this in the library and skimmed through it to show my friends the Hindhu stories I sometimes mentioned, and there were extreme discrepancies.
While there are certainly going to be differences in the stories depending on where and who you hear them from, these errors are massively off to the point I have no idea where the author got this information.
One example is the story of Ganesha, where she states he was built from fabric??? And completely skims over why and how he was created, and the entire incident where Shiva cuts his head off and searches for another to replace it (this is where the elephant head comes from).
Ganesha is actually made of mud, specifically the dirt rubbed off his mother's skin while she took a special type of bath involving spreading a paste that dries, then rubbing it off. This is not a minor change, because it is the reason why we make Ganesha sculptures out of mud for the annual Pooja in his name. The cutting off of the head of a baby elephant, whose mother had been facing the opposite direction as they slept, is the reason we have a superstition that mother's should not sleep facing away from their child.
While the barebones of the gods are accurate, many of the details that are important to our religion and traditions are omitted or altered, so please don't use this book as your guide to Hindhu mythology!
December 20, 2022
The spirit of the divine
"Hindu Gods" by Priya Hemenway is a tight well-written synopsis of the Hindu Gods. In just 96 pages she covers the major concepts and gods including many of the well-known ones. Each subject is approximately a page long and accompanied by a Work of art that depicts the subject being written about.
If you only read one book or need a starting place on Hinduism here it is. A not-too-surprising revelation is one of them (The ninth Incarnation of Vishnu) is Gautama Buddha is described from her point of view.
Hopefully, this book will take some of the mystery out of the Hindu Gods or possibly start your journey of the divine. Be sure not to pass up the Ramayana in your reading travels.
"Hindu Gods" by Priya Hemenway is a tight well-written synopsis of the Hindu Gods. In just 96 pages she covers the major concepts and gods including many of the well-known ones. Each subject is approximately a page long and accompanied by a Work of art that depicts the subject being written about.
If you only read one book or need a starting place on Hinduism here it is. A not-too-surprising revelation is one of them (The ninth Incarnation of Vishnu) is Gautama Buddha is described from her point of view.
Hopefully, this book will take some of the mystery out of the Hindu Gods or possibly start your journey of the divine. Be sure not to pass up the Ramayana in your reading travels.
January 28, 2023
Good introduction to hindoe gods
September 12, 2023
Beautiful illustrations!
December 17, 2010
just finished this and all I can say is that hinduism is a trip! it's like reading the Iliad and odyssey mixed with Alice and wonderland... you have babies heads falling off and being replaced with elephant heads, gods being born from and ear or a rib cage - galactic battles - a god of semen - women gods who wear the severed limbs of the defeated... and it goes on. I originally bought the book for use as a quick reference and for the artwork and used it more for decor because it's nice looking. All I can say is that Puneet is right when he said it's a religion for geeks because it's like DC and Marvel comics! Each god has it's own superpower and nemesis and power animal. They could walk across the galaxies and lived under the seas. Now that I look back at movies like 'watchmen' so many of the super hero movies and epic tales are based on Hinduism.
October 6, 2023
The spirit of the divine
"Hindu Gods" by Priya Hemenway is a tight well-written synopsis of the Hindu Gods. In just 96 pages she covers the major concepts and gods including many of the well-known ones. Each subject is approximately a page long and accompanied by a Work of art that depicts the subject being written about.
If you only read one book or need a starting place on Hinduism here it is. A not-too-surprising revelation is one of them (The ninth Incarnation of Vishnu) is Gautama Buddha is described from her point of view.
Hopefully, this book will take some of the mystery out of the Hindu Gods or possibly start your journey of the divine. Be sure not to pass up the Ramayana in your reading travels.
"Hindu Gods" by Priya Hemenway is a tight well-written synopsis of the Hindu Gods. In just 96 pages she covers the major concepts and gods including many of the well-known ones. Each subject is approximately a page long and accompanied by a Work of art that depicts the subject being written about.
If you only read one book or need a starting place on Hinduism here it is. A not-too-surprising revelation is one of them (The ninth Incarnation of Vishnu) is Gautama Buddha is described from her point of view.
Hopefully, this book will take some of the mystery out of the Hindu Gods or possibly start your journey of the divine. Be sure not to pass up the Ramayana in your reading travels.
April 27, 2015
No se prácticamente nada de los dioses hindúes y después de este libro me he hecho una buena idea general, creo que te da una buena estructura base aunque es muy básico. La presentación está muy cuidada y las ilustraciones en mate son preciosas, es un libro muy bien hecho. En la edición española hay bastantes erratas teniendo en cuenta lo cortito que es, no he acabado de entender por qué. Lo recomiendo especialmente si no tienes ni idea de hinduismo y quieres meter un poco la nariz en sus dioses principales.
April 25, 2022
A fantastic overview of the Hindu gods! Having read so many books on Hinduism, this was my go to encyclopaedia to really understand the structure of Hinduism. It starts with the Holy Trinity of creation & expands to all aspects of human life through the manifestation of many gods representing each part of life. God expands into many aspects of he/she themselves to come to the aid of mortals in different scenarios. A complex system made accessible to the novice reader!
January 1, 2013
A wonderful little book about Hinduism. Great for anyone who is interested in Hinduism, knows nothing about Hinduism, or just loves learning about religions. For those who do not normally read the captions for pictures, please try doing so in this book. The descriptions given for the images in this book are wonderfully written and very informative. :3
August 5, 2011
I picked up this book a few years ago at a used book store. As with Ritual Art of India, the primary thing that drew me to it was the artwork. While I don't have the background to understand the devotional context of the myths in the book, it was a very compelling and illuminating read.
December 15, 2011
Its like a super quick introduction into the world of Hindu Gods. Talks about the Eternal Triad (3 Gods that are like God's God) and the 10 avatars of Vishnu and the story behind them. Also about other very common-place Gods like Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Durga, Kali, etc..
April 24, 2013
Decent, simple intro to deities, lots of beautiful artwork as well.
December 8, 2013
A well written introduction to the hindu gods and some of the myths that surround them.
February 23, 2015
An very interesting look into the beliefs of Hinduism. And just a glance at the many, many gods.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews