Smarta Deities

The Remover of Obstacles

The elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, invoked before every undertaking. Ganesha is worshipped across sectarian lines — Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta and Smarta households alike begin with him — which makes him one of the most widely venerated deities in the Hindu world.

Goddess of Knowledge

Goddess of knowledge, music, speech and the arts — and, in the Rigveda, a river. Worshipped at Vasant Panchami by students and musicians, and the deity before whom children are traditionally taught to write their first letters.

The Sun

The sun as a deity — the one major Hindu god who is directly visible. Invoked in the Gayatri mantra, worshipped at Chhath and Makar Sankranti, and once the centre of a distinct sect with its own great temples at Konark and Modhera.

The River Goddess

The Ganges as a goddess — a river worshipped as a living deity along its whole course, held to purify what is immersed in it, and central to Hindu death rites. Also one of the most polluted major rivers in the world, which is a fact the tradition now has to hold alongside the other.

The Creator

The creator of the Trimurti — and the most striking anomaly in Hindu practice, a supreme deity with almost no temples. Worshipped chiefly at Pushkar, and present everywhere in cosmology while nearly absent from devotion.

The Slow-Moving One

Saturn among the Navagraha, and the deity most associated with consequence, discipline and delay. Worshipped on Saturdays with sesame oil and black cloth, and approached with a wariness unusual in Hindu devotion.

The Moon

The moon as a deity, and second of the Navagraha. Identified with Soma of the Vedic sacrifice, associated with the mind, and the reason the Hindu calendar is what it is — every festival date is his.

Sister of Death

The Yamuna as a goddess — daughter of the sun, twin sister of Yama, and the river of Krishna's Braj. Second only to the Ganga in sanctity, and among the most polluted rivers in the world.

The Shadow that Swallows

The severed head of an asura who drank the nectar of immortality, and the ascending lunar node. One of two Navagraha that are not bodies at all but points in space — and the tradition's explanation of eclipses.

The Headless Body

The severed body of the asura whose head became Rahu, and the descending lunar node. The ninth of the Navagraha, associated with detachment, loss and liberation — the graha that takes things away.

Mercury, the Wise

Mercury among the Navagraha — the graha of intelligence, speech and commerce. Son of Chandra and Tara, born of an abduction that caused a war among the gods, and ancestor of the lunar dynasty of the Mahabharata.

Jupiter, Preceptor of the Gods

Jupiter among the Navagraha, and Brihaspati — teacher and counsellor of the gods. The graha of wisdom, dharma and expansion, and the one whose name became the ordinary Indian word for a teacher.

Venus, Preceptor of the Asuras

Venus among the Navagraha, and Shukracharya — teacher of the asuras, keeper of the knowledge that revives the dead, and the tradition's most interesting argument against treating its demons as simply evil.

Mars, the Red One

Mars among the Navagraha, better known in North India as Mangala. Born of the earth, red in every attribute, and associated with energy, conflict and land — the graha most closely tied to property and to siblings.

Treasurer of the Gods

Lord of wealth and keeper of the treasures of the earth — king of the yakshas, guardian of the north, and Ravana's half-brother. Worshipped alongside Lakshmi at Diwali, and the deity from whom Venkateswara borrowed for his wedding.