# data[].attributes.body
Vayu is the element god of wind and air. He is no less driven by his lust and passion, which blows as far as his winds. The child would be a loyal monkey Hanuman. This is the reason why Vanara has the ability to fly. Once Vayu catches sight of  Hanuman's mother, Anjana, the wind god transforms her into a beautiful human for a night. The product of their union is Hanuman, who eventually dwarfs his own father in his exploits.

Kinley Hegberg

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
This is Ravana and the ten different names of his head 

# data[].attributes.body
Ravana is a giant and he has ten heads and look like a demon.
He is the demon god and has a lot of weapon his heads have different names. Ravana is important because he is the main villain. He is cunning and can get anything he wants
-mason

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Jatayu trying to protect Sita but ends up getting a wing cut off.

# data[].attributes.body
Jatayu is a guardian eagle that is the size of a mountain. Jatayu is dedicated and delighted to take care of Ramas family and dedicated to protect. The eagle once fought side by side with Rama's dad. After Ramas dads dearth Jatayu adopts Rama's family and keeps a eye on them. Jatayu loses a wing trying to protect Sita and landed on a rock and May of died.
Kj

# data[].attributes.body
He is a forest monk that gives Rama a golden bow and arrows of Vishnu. He is one of the Indian sages found in ancient sculpture and reliefs in Hindu temples of South Asia, and Southeast Asia such as in the early medieval era. Agastya is mentioned in all the four Vedas of Hinduism. They are important because they keep track of the golden bow and Vishnu's arrows. Rama praises Agastya as the one who can do what gods find impossible. He is described by Rama as the sage who asked Vindhya mountains to lower themselves so that Sun, Moon and living beings could easily pass over it. Bella.

# data[].attributes.body
Kaikeyi is the hotheaded second queen. She banished Rama into the jungle for 14 years. She has a servant named Manthra the one who makes up nonsense about Rama, “kaikeyi falls for the soap opera and gives Rama the boot the first chance she gets” (pg 138). Soon Kaikeyi realized that had been duped by manthra and sends her away.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
This is Brahma. Here he is only showed with 3 head even though he has 4 heads.

# data[].attributes.body
Brahma is a part of the Hindu trinity. He is important because he had created the earth and everything on it. It's said he that he was born from a golden egg. He isn't worshipped as much as Vishnu or Shiva. He as a daughter who he starts lusting after. Shiva cuts off one of his head to keep him under control.

Raina

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
What she believed to have looked like in her beautiful form.

# data[].attributes.body
She was smitten by Ramas good looks and she adopted the form of a beautiful lady to entice him but he kindly rejected her, saying he was faithful to his wife. Then she attacked sita and lakshman cut off her nose.

# data[].attributes.body
Bharatas has a mustache and has teal beads around him.
Bharata is extremely helpful and a skilled warrior.
Bharata is a legendary emperor and the founder of Bharata dynasty.
Bharata is. Ramas brother and son of second queen kaikeyi.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Dasaratha was the king of the Kosola warrior clan and father of Rama.

# data[].attributes.body
Dasaratha is the king of the warrior clan and rules the kingdom of Kosola. He has three wife's Kausalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra, and then Shanta, Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrughna were born. Dasaratha has compassion, a sense of justice, and courage. He is important because he is the father of Rama and a king. Dasaratha died from a broken heart he  exiled Rama his favorite son and soon after died.

Colston Pernot

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Vishvamitra (to the right) is the mentor putting his hand on Ramas head 

# data[].attributes.body
Vishvamitra is the spiritual guide for Rama and Lakshman but Vishvamitra was not all was a Brahmarishi and not always so powerful he started out as a war-faring king cursing and killing many to rise to the throne. After a an encounter he would realize that there was an error in how he acted. He would change how he acted he would become more calm letting his problems flow away. He has a beard and a mustache he also has some juls. He was a very important character because he trained Rama and Lakshman. He also had a mystical cow that he  named after guru.

Paige L

# data[].attributes.body
Rama is supposedly the perfect human. His over all purpose in life is to destroy Ravana. Some people believe that unlike others people in the ramayana that Rama may have actually been real. Rama is celebrated on the festival of light

Isaac

# data[].attributes.body
Jatayu was the guardian eagle of Sita, Rama, and Lakshman. He protected them and looked out for them. He was a very mighty and big eagle, he was also very committed to the three. He was important because he looked out after Rama, Sita, and Lakshman, he also fought for them. He died because when he heard the screams of Sita he went to go save her, but Ravana chopped of his wing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Hanuman picture that looks like from book 

# data[].attributes.body
Looks like the picture from the book, and they are important because he helped Rama try to accomplish his goal
Hanuman is a Hindu god and a divine vanara companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and one of the chiranjivis. Hanuman is regarded to be the spiritual son of the wind-god Vayu, who in several stories played a direct role in Hanuman's birth

# data[].attributes.body
almost too holy and beautiful for words.
Traits are quiet strength,  and sweet.
She is the mother of twin brothers lakshman and shatrughna
Third queen and mother of twin brothers Lachman and shatrughna. the gentle Queen is the picture of poise and grace and stands for service and charity.
Bryce

# data[].attributes.body
Technically Jambaven is Ramas older brother and or son because he was born when vishnu yawned he was also a great alley to Rama in the war against ravana. Jambaven is a purple/blue bear he is said to be very wise and old.

By Noah F. Rumpel

# data[].attributes.body
Tataka is a demon and as a kid they thought that she would have the strength of 1000 elephants. She looks like a scary witch. She was not a demon as a kid but she was not behaving good so a curse was put on her that turned her into a demon. She makes everybody's life like hell for herself. They recruited Rama to teach the disrespectful demon a lesson.

Evan Chady

# data[].attributes.body
She has yellow and white cloths. She is nice and kind. Sita is important because she was taken away by ravana. Wife of Rama an daughter of king Janak.

Haden

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Sita is looking at the deer (Maricha) with Rama.

# data[].attributes.body
He is a revengeful uncle for ravana who transformed into a deer to lure Rama away from sita but ravana kidnaps her. And when Rama shoots him with an arrow he gets his revenge for his dead mother tataka. By Will

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
A picture of Rama that I found on google 

# data[].attributes.headline
                      Rama (Reincarnation of Vishnu)

# data[].attributes.subject
                      Rama (Reincarnation of Vishnu)

# data[].attributes.body
They are blue, kind and helpful and ready to do anything, they are important because they are one of the many main characters in the book and he is the one that everyone follows to the island, here is one fact from britannica "Rama’s name is a popular form of greeting among friends ('Ram! Ram!')".

Made by: Dorion

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
This is Vishnu. Vishnu has infinite arms so that he can look over all of the world.

# data[].attributes.body
Vishnu is important because he looks over the world with his infinite arms. According to khan Academy Vishnu is considered charming and playful. He also has many avatars. He is the supreme god of justice according to the book.

Owen

# data[].attributes.body
Kakshman is Ramas step brother and is always by his side. He is the prince of ayodhya. Him and Rama also dress alike. -Arabella Trow

# data[].attributes.body
Jambavan is the great bear chief who allies with Rama. And Leeds Rama deep in to the jungle where makes more Allie's. Like hanuman.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
UPDATE: Hindu God Family Tree posters are ready!

Let me begin by saying this is not a comprehensive Hindu God family tree - not even close. It's also at least partly wrong, although I'm sure folks will disagree over which parts. I'm trying not to feel bad about that, because it's not entirely my fault.
Hinduism is the product of 6000 years of contradicting and coalescing religious ideas, in which time is cyclical, the world's an illusion, and more or less everyone is an incarnation, reincarnation, preincarnation, aspect, or avatar of someone else. For the most part, Hindu gods don't have consistent, universally accepted relationships with one another, and even the most popular have seemingly contradictory myths.

So with that in mind, a few specific disclaimers:

1) This chart isn't the only, or most common, or most authoritative version of anything.

2) Please, for the love of god(s), don't use this for any school projects or anything. I'm not some brilliant scholar, just some guy who's trying his best.

3) If you're looking at this and thinking "it's all wrong," you're probably right, or at least part-right. Send me an email at VeritableHokum@gmail.com and I'll see if I can fix it. (Update: Thanks for the corrections! And especially thanks to Debasis, for an absurdly long and helpful email which pointed out, among many other things, that I'd totally missed a few third eyes.)

4. If you're thinking "this is so wrong it's actually offensive," please email me at VeritableHokum@gmail.com and I'll probably apologize.

Now, on to what I (think I) know about all those gods up there:

Devi

Depending who you ask, Devi is a goddess, and/or a bunch of goddesses, and/or a personification of creative power and/or energy and/or will of any number of other gods. Confused? Me too, but bare with me.
Devi ("goddess"), also called Shakti ("power"), is the most important deity in one of the biggest branches of Hinduism, called Shaktism. She's both a goddess and a sort of all-encompassing divine energy that's the source of everything ever. Sometimes she's worshipped in her own right, sometimes through other goddesses who are considered aspects or forms of hers (especially Parvati), and sometimes through other gods whose powers and actions she makes possible.
I'll try to note further down the list where goddesses are especially identified with Devi, but as a general rule of thumb, any Hindu goddess is probably also Devi.

Brahma

Brahma is the first of a trio of major Hindu gods called the "trimurti," which includes Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. Of the three, Brahma's probably the easiest to get a handle on, mostly because he's the least written about. Vishnu and Shiva both have whole branches of Hinduism dedicated to them, but Brahma's sort of fallen out of favor.
According to ancient texts, the Hindu universe is infinite, timeless, and endless - but our world isn't. We're all manifestations of Brahma's meditation, and when Brahma finishes meditating for the day, our world finishes existing. But don't worry - one of Brahma's days is a couple million of our years, and even when our world does end, another will take its place.

But you're probably wondering about the whole "belly button lotus" thing. That comes from one of several creation stories that arose as Brahma was displaced by more recently popular gods. According to this one, Brahma wasn't the first god - Vishnu was. Vishnu created a vast primordial ocean, and then a hundred headed snake to float on as he meditated. Then, from Vishnu's bellybutton emerged a lotus, and from the lotus emerged Brahma, and from Brahma's meditation emerged everything else.

Saraswati

Saraswati is a goddess of wisdom, learning, and the arts, and the wife/consort of Brahma. She's often put into a group called the "tridevi," opposite the trimurti, which is made up of the female counterparts of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. She's also very old, showing up in some of the earliest Hindu texts as a goddess of water and purification.
In case you're wondering, the big thing in her hands is a traditional Indian instrument called a veena. It's kind of like a giant guitar.

Vishnu

Depending on the source, Vishnu is either one of the most important gods in the universe, or the most important god in the universe, or he literally is the universe, or (more likely) all of the above. One of the largest branches of Hinduism, Vaishnavism, holds Vishnu as its top god. He's called the preserver (opposite the creator, Brahma, and the destroyer, Shiva) and his role is to keep the universe universing until it's time for it to end.
While he's often addressed as more of a concept than a character, Vishnu's probably most famous for his avatars - that is, the times he took actual, physical, earthly forms to deal with actual, physical, earthly threats. But we'll get to those in a second.

Lakshmi

Lakshmi, also called Sri, is a goddess of wealth and luck and wife to Vishnu.
Her birth is the end of one of Hinduism's great myths, the Churning of the Ocean of Milk.
A long, long time ago, the devas ("gods") and asuras (usually translated as "demons" but not the pitchfork kind - well, except the ones that are) teamed up to churn the Ocean of Milk. The idea was that, if they churned it hard enough, they could dredge up all the amazing treasures from the bottom, including Amrita, the nectar of immortality.
The gods all stood on a mountain on Vishnu's back and stirred the ocean with an enormous snake. First a horrible poison came out, but Shiva saved the universe by drinking it, and Parvati saved Shiva by choking Shiva so he coulnd't actually swallow it. Once that was done, a whole bunch of treasures emerged, including the moon, the nectar of immortality, a super-cow, and Lakshmi.
The rest of the story involves the devas and asuras all fighting over who'd get to be immortal, with the devas ultimately winning thanks to some well-timed seduction by Vishnu in goddess-form.

A Note of Avatars

The next bunch of entries are all avatars, or mortal incarnations of gods (mostly Vishnu). Most sources agree that Vishnu has 10 avatars, but they all seem to disagree on who those avatars are. I found this one in a book, but there are lots of other versions. The most common substitution seems to be the Buddha, which seems like it *might* be a millenia-old screw-you to Buddhism. When Buddhism was new and growing, some Hindu sects started claiming that Buddha was just an avatar of Vishnu, but that his role was to trick good Hindu folks into believing in illusions.
Also, they're all a bit out of order because I wanted to fit an arrow pointing from Lakshmi to Sita.

Rama

Vishnu's seventh avatar, and the hero of one of the oldest, longest, and most awesome stories in human history, the Ramayana. It's like, part religious scripture, part Star Wars, part Lion King, and part Lord of the Rings, and the climax has thousands of magical monkeys assaulting a demon's island fortress.
I'll give it a super short summary here, but seriously, it's worth reading the whole story.

Prologue:
There's this demon king named Ravana, and he's arranged it so he can't be harmed by gods. So, to defeat him, the gods incarnate themselves as mortals: Vishnu as four princes, Lakshmi as a princess, and most of the rest of the gods as magical monkeys.

Vishnu's main incarnation, Rama, marries Lakshmi's incarnation, Sita, but a dispute over the throne winds up forcing Rama, Sita, and Rama's brother Lakshmana into a fourteen year exile. For thirteen years, they live as hermits.
One day, a demon-lady shows up and tries to sleep with Rama, and when he says no, she attacks, and when Rama and Lakshmana defeat her, she gets her big brother to attack with a demon army, and when Rama and Lakshmana defeat THEM, she gets her even bigger brother, Ravana, to kidnap Sita.
Rama and Lakshmana set out to rescue Sita, having adventures, fighting demons, and befriending thousands of super-powered monkeys. Eventually, they assault Ravana's castle, kill him, rescue Sita, recover Rama's kingdom, and live happily ever after. Or, well, almost.

Sita

Problem is, that's not the end of the story. In the years after her rescue, Rama's kingdom was consumed by rumors that maybe Sita wasn't as faithful as she seemed - she sure had been in that castle for a long time, and everyone knew Ravana could be, ahem, "convincing." In truth, Sita had been faithful, but Rama kept asking, and then exiled her for political reasons, and then asked her to come back, but only if she'd swear her innocence. Sita replied, basically, "If I'm telling the truth, let the earth swallow me up!" and then the earth swallowed her up and Rama was left to think about what he'd done.

Hanuman

Hanuman isn't a god as such, but he's one of Rama's best friends, and he's basically monkey superman Some sources claim he's an incarnation of Shiva. I think I read somewhere that he might be a major influence behind a Chinese mythological figure named the Monkey King, but I can't find it now so it's possible I made it up.

Balarama

Balarama is sometimes considered Vishnu's eighth or ninth avatar, and sometimes not. Either way, he's most famous for being Krishna's older brother. He's a great farmer, and uses a plow both to till soil and bash demons.

Krishna

Krishna is usually listed as Vishnu's eighth avatar, but depending who you ask, he's also a god in his own right, and/or the most important god, period. He has a starring role in an astoundingly long Hindu epic called the Mahabharata, in which he herds cows, plays tricks, saves people, fights demons, and famously refuses to fight in a world-shaking battle, although he agrees to drive a prince's chariot. The chariot part alone is a massively important holy book called the Bhagavad Gita Krishna lays out some of the core morality and philosophy of Hinduism (there's a whole lot there, but in general it seem to come down to doing your duty as best as you possibly can).

Matsya

Matsya is almost always listed as Vishnu's first avatar, a fish-man who warns Manu, the first man, that there's a flood coming, and that he should build a boat and load his family and some sages and animals seeds aboard
If you're reading this and thinking "Noah's Ark," you're not alone, but don't assume one copied the other - the world's basically overflowing with flood myths, and they go back far enough that no one's sure about the source, or if there even is one source.

Kurma

When they went to churn the Ocean of Milk (see Lakshmi above), the gods needed somewhere to stand. So Vishnu turned into his second avatar, a huge turtle, and the rest of the gods stood on a mountain on his back. In the story, he's actually a turtle, but in every picture I saw he was an awkwardly serene looking turtle-taur, so that's what I drew.

Varaha

There's a running theme in Hindu myths where demons manage to gain immunity to all sorts of things, and gods defeat them by turning into the one thing they forgot. In this case, a world-stealing demon named Hiranyaksha had forgotten about boars, so Vishnu became one, Robert-Baratheon'd him, and stole the world back.

Nrisingha

Hiranyaksha's brother was a step smarter, and gained immunity to all people, gods, and animals, at day and night, both inside and outside of any building. So Vishnu chose as his fourth avatar a half-man-half-lion (neither human nor animal), and killed him at dusk (neither night nor day) in a doorway (neither inside nor outside).

Vamana

Vishnu's fifth avatar was a dwarf named Vamana who saved the gods from a human king who'd managed to conquer the gods' kingdom. Vamana convinced the king to grant him as much land as he could cover in three steps, and the king, seeing Vamana's tiny legs, agreed. Then Vamana grew huge enough that three steps took him clear across the earth and the heavens, which he returned to the gods.

UPDATE: Thanks to Sanjay for the following correction!

"Just wanted to chime in about Vamana- he wasn't opposed to a human king but rather to Mahabali, an asura. Asuras are kinda, sorta demons but not really, basically they can act nasty like Ravana in the Ramayana, but they aren't necessarily opposed to the Hindu gods (and some of them *are* Hindu gods, like Varuna, god of the ocean).

Mahabali was essentially such a great ruler that his power rivaled the Gods and so they got Vishnu to take care of it as you outlined.

A neat quirk is that Mahabali was traditionally supposed to be the King of the South Indian region of Kerala, and an added tweak to the myth there states that after having all his realms taken away he asked Vamana for one favour- to visit his home kingdom once a year. The festival commemorating that, Onam, is still the most important festival in Kerala."

Parasurama

Vishnu's sixth avatar was a guy who resolved a political dispute between the brahmin (priests) and kshatria) warriors.

Kalki (not pictured)

I'm including him here because he's technically the last avatar, but he hasn't actually appeared yet. When he finally does arrive, he'll be riding a winged horse, and our world will end.

Shiva

Don't let his position in this chart fool you (it's just how things fit). Shiva is a big, important, powerful god, the highest god of the largest branches of Hinduism, Shaivism. He's also a super complex figure. He's a god of destruction and creation, and depending on the story, he's a calm, detached ascetic, and/or a loving, engaged husband and father, and as prone to supernaturally calm meditation as he is to destroying everything in a fit of rage. I'm not saying he's erratic, or ill-defined, just that there's been enough written and said about him in the past few thousand years that it can be tough to make sense of it.
He's often called the destroyer (alongside Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver), but that might not mean what you think it means. Or - well, yes, he does destroy worlds, and returns everything to the formless chaos from which it emerged, but philosophically speaking that's not a bad thing, because a) everything's cyclical and destruction is required for creation, and b) he's only destroying illusions anyway - the real, all-encompassing truth of the universe survives.
Shiva has a third eye, from which he can produce a laser beam made of pure fiery enlightenment. He's used it to destroy demons, gods, things that annoyed him, and, in one story, millions upon millions of cows.

A Note on Shiva's Wives

I should mention here that, while the chart might make it seem like Shiva has a bunch of wives, they're really all the same wife. because they're all incarnations or aspects of Parvati and/or Devi.

Parvati

Parvati's technically a reincarnation of Shiva's first wife, but I'm listing her first because she's by far the far more important incarnation. She's a goddess of love and devotion, beautiful, kind, fierce, and seemingly the only one who can change Shiva's mind about stuff. While all goddesses are sometimes considered aspects of the Devi, from what I can tell, Parvati is often considered one and the same.
But take note, ladies: as beautiful as Parvati may be (and she is), beauty isn't the way to Shiva's heart. It took Parvati years of religiously motivated suffering and deprivation, and unwavering loyalty.

Sati

Sati was Shiva's first wife, but although they loved each other completely, Sati's family did not. Her father, Daksha, thought Shiva was a smelly ol' hermit and wanted nothing to do with him. After one insult too many, Sati threw herself into a sacrificial fire and died. Shiva killed Daksha (don't worry, he got better) and mournfully danced around the world with Sati's corpse on his shoulders, until the other gods managed to make him stop.

Durga

Durga means something like "the inaccessible," but is more famous for being really powerful and really angry. She's was created out of the other gods' anger at an evil buffalo demon, and over the course of that myth she beheads him, stabs him, benoses him, stabs him again, and beheads him again, and then he finally stays dead.

Kali

Once, Durga fought a demon who could create new demons whenever his blood touched the ground. The more she fought, the more demons were born, and the more demons were born, the angrier Durga got. Eventually Durga, a goddess who was literally created from anger, got so angry that her anger turned into yet another goddess: Kali.
No goddess has ever been so bloodthirsty - literally, she drank all the blood, killed all the demons, and saved the gods. But then she kept going and going, killing and eating everything in her path in an unstoppable torrent of destruction. Shiva finally managed to stop her, by lying down in her path. When Kali realized who she'd just stomped on, she calmed down at once.
But like Shiva, Kali isn't just about destruction. It's another of those cyclical things - destruction and creation being two sides of the same coin, or something like that.

Oh, and not that this is at all representative of normal, modern Kali-worship, but she was also worshipped by the Thuggees, a group of murder-cultists who wandered India in the 1800's, made friends with travellers, and then strangled them in their sleep. Over a few decades starting in the 1830's, the British colonial government wiped them out, but their legacy lives on, sort of, as the source of the English word "thug."

Kartikeya/Skanda

Kartikeya, also called Skanda, is a god of war, a wise general of the gods' armies. I found several birth-stories for him, which usually involve some combination of Shiva and/or Parvati and/or Agni and/or a river and/or several other goddesses. But my favorite myth of his is his race around the world against his brother, Ganesha, to decide who'd get to marry first. As soon as they started, Kartikeya sped off over the horizon. Ganesha, meanwhile, walked in a circle around his parents, on the grounds that Shiva and Parvati together are, more or less, the world. Ganesha was declared the winner.

Ganesha

Ganesha might be the most well-known Hindu god. I think it's partly that he's popular and respected, partly that he's a god of success (and who doesn't want more of that?), and partially because he's just really, really darned cute. From what I hear, it's not uncommon to ask him for help with just about any endeavor, especially business deals.
He has a bunch of birth stories, but my favorite says he was sculpted by a Parvati. While Shiva was out one day, Parvati took a bath, and decided to create someone to keep her company. She collected some of the dirt and molded it into a boy, and then brought the boy to life and had him guard the house. Later on, when Shiva returned, he found himself blocked from entering his own home by some boy he'd never met. So, he cut off his head.
When Parvati saw what happened, and collapsed, screaming that he'd killed her son. Shiva dashed off and came back with an elephant's head, and Ganesha came back to life, fatter and wiser and elephantier than ever before.

Riddhi and Siddhi

Some myths give Ganesha two or three wives, named Riddhi (prosperity), Siddhi (spiritual power), and sometimes Buddhi (wisdom). I think they're more concepts than actual goddesses, though.

Rudra

You could make a case that I shouldn't have listed Rudra as separate from Shiva, because nowadays Rudra is just another name for Shiva. But thousands of years ago, it was the other way around - Shiva was a name for Rudra, a ferocious god of storms. There's a whole lot of crossover in symbols, myths, and depictions, and I haven't found any solid explanation for how or why one gradually replaced the other.
His name means something like "roarer" and he's got a lot to do with fertility. Oh, and his wife is named Prsni, which means "water bag", which I find funny despite myself.

Soma

Also called Chandra, Soma is an ancient god of the moon and of soma, a long-lost, probably-hallucinogenic plant/drink that featured in a lot of ancient rituals, or so I hear. No one's sure what the plant was, but it sounds like it was a trip. Not that I'd suggest any connection between ancient Hinduism and mind-altering substances.
Soma is also the brand name of a safe(ish) narcotic in one of the most horrifying books I've ever read, Brave New World.

Vayu

Vayu is an ancient god of wind, sometimes associated with the breath of the fire god, Agni, I guess because hot air rises?

Aditi

Aditi means "infinity," and in some ancient sources, she was the source of all living things, and the divine energy within mankind. She's the mother of the Adityas, a bunch of sun gods whose number and membership changes depending on the source and who (depending who you ask) may or may not all be aspects of the same god.
Her article on Wikipedia quotes the an ancient Hindu text as saying "Daksha sprang from Aditi and Aditi from Daksha." It explains right afterwords that it's a poetic way of saying they're made of the same divine essence, but I prefer to think that she's her own grandmother.

Mitra

Mitra is a relatively minor god in Hinduism, but I find him totally fascinating. In terms of raw miles covered, he's one of the most widely worshipped gods in history, with artifacts and inscriptions stretching clear from India to England. The Indian and Persian Mitra is the oldest version of him we have record of, as a god of light, order, and agreements, especially those between humans. While his worship declined in India, it grew in Persia, until, by 500 BCE, "Mithra" was one of the most important gods in one of the most powerful empires in the world.
After Alexander the Great conquered Persia in 330 BCE, Mithra worship mostly vanished, reduced to one small area on the Mediterranean, but then in 136 CE, all of a sudden, "Mithras" worship seems to have taken the Roman Empire by storm, with inscriptions and engravings and statues popping up all over. By this time, he'd changed some, but he was still a god of light and order, and still had (we think) some similar rituals and iconography. His worship died out when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity. But given his history, I'm half-expecting we'll find out they've been worshipping him on Mars the whole time.

Varuna

Varuna is another ancient god, by some accounts the twin brother of Mitra, and with similar roles and powers. There's a theory that he's an Indian version of the ancient Indo-European sky god, Dyaus, which would make him a sort of evolutionary cousin of the Greek Ouranos. He's also closely related to the top Persian god, Ahura Mazda.

Aryaman

Now we're getting into some gods who aren't especially noteworthy, but who I included anyway because they're Aditi's kids, and this is a family tree. Aryaman is a sun god. It's possible he was a big deal at some point, thousands of years ago, but not anymore.

Bhaga

Yet another sun god, associated especially with wealth. One of the books I flipped through said he was the brother of Ushas, but another claimed Ushas was the child of Dyaus and Prithvi. I think it's probably a case where both are right.

Daksha

When I first started trying to map out a Hindu God family tree, Daksha confused the heck out of me. Some sources called him an Aditya, some said he was the son of "Prajapati," some that he *was* Prajapati, and some that Prajapati was just a title and didn't matter much either way. One thing they all agreed on was that Shiva cut off his head to avenge his wife Sati in a really rancorous family dispute. Daksha made out ok in the end, with a goat's head in place of his original one.

UPDATE: Thanks to Debasis for explaining that there are ten Prajapatis, born of thought from Brahma, and that Daksha is one of them.

Tvastar

The artisan of the gods, who in some stories created the giant demon, Vritra, that Indra famously defeated (see Indra).

Savitar

I couldn't find much about Savitar, except that he's probably really ancient.

Pushan

Pushan was especially associated with travel, livestock, and herds.

Amsa

Amsa (or Ansa, or Amsha, or Ansha) is another Aditya about whom I know almost nothing.

Surya

If the other Adityas are sun gods, Surya is *the* sun god. His name even means "sun." A long, long time ago, he was a pretty big deal, presiding over all life, but over the past few thousand years a lot of his powers and importance transferred over to Vishnu.

Saranyu

Saranyu is an ancient cloud goddess, mostly known for her children, including the Ashvin twins, and Yama, Yami, and Manu (not pictured).

Yama

Yama is the Hindu Lord of Death, and ruler of Naraka, which is an underworld place where souls suffer temporary but severe punishment for the crappy things they did on Earth. After that, they're reincarnated on Earth in a better or worse form, depending on how worthy they were in their past lives.
I've seen some claims that Yama was the first human to die, but there are at least three separate plausible First Mans Ever in Hinduism, and I don't feel qualified to weigh in on that contest.

Yami

Also called Yamuna, yami is most famous for asking her twin brother Yama to marry her. In that story, Yama refused, on the grounds that incest is gross, but other, later myths seem to consider them married.

The Ashvins

The Ashvins are the twin sons of Surya and Saranyu (or, in another version, Surya and a horse) and the best doctors Hindu mythology has to offer. They're both super ancient gods, and probably have their origins somewhere in the Proto-Indo-European past like Dyaus and Prithvi.
There are also depictions of them as human-headed gods who merely ride horses.

Kubera

Originally, Kubera wasn't a god - he was just some demon guy. But as a reward for extreme actions of penance, Brahma granted him incredible boons: godhood, lordship over wealth itself, and friendship with some of the Hindu pantheon's heaviest hitters. I like him because he's a little fat guy with tons of treasure.

Dyaus and Prithvi

Dyaus and Prithvi are father sky and mother earth, and they're some of the most ancient gods we have on record. They might even predate the rest of the Hindu gods. See, there's a theory that a huge amount of European and Asian mythology, is more or less descended from the myths of a group called the Proto-Indo-Europeans, which is archaeologist-speak for "People who lived a long time ago somewhere between India and Europe." We don't have much direct evidence of their mythology - just some theories and reconstructions based on what cultures have in common, and when. But one thing a lot of them have in common is a sky-god whose name sounds like Dyaus, or Dyaus Pita, or Dyeus, or Zeus, or Zeus Pater, or Jupiter.

Kama

"Kama" (as in Kama sutra) means "desire." He's the Hindu world's chief love god, with a sugarcane bow and flower-tipped arrows that inspire love and desire in even their most loveless targets.
Once, Parvati asked Kama to help her get Shiva's attention, because despite her copious feminine wiles, all he'd do was meditate. One arrow did the trick, but Shiva was so angry to be awoken that he vaporized Kama with a glance. But hey, anything for love, right?
Also, a lot of pictures show him riding a parrot made of women.

Rati

In most respects, Rati is the female counterpart to Kama. It was Rati who convinced Shiva to return him to life after the whole vaporization thing. In some versions of the story, Kama is reborn as a son of Krishna, and Rati serves as his nanny, and then his girlfriend, and then his wife.

Agni

Early Hinduism was really big on sacrifices, especially sacrifices by fire, so it makes sense that the god of sacrificial fire was among the most important back then. He's was the connection between gods and people, a divine messenger. He's usually depicted with seven arms, two heads, and three legs, which makes him the most awkward god I've ever had to draw.

UPDATE: Thanks to Debasis for pointing out that there are also depictions of Agni in which he has one head, two legs, and four arms.

Ushas

Ushas, the goddess of the dawn, was one of the most important goddesses in the ancient, pre-Hindu religion. She's still somewhat revered nowadays, although not quite as much.

Indra

It might seem weird that the king of the gods is all the way at the bottom of this tree, and I swear I didn't do it on purpose, but in a way it's sort of appropriate. In ancient times, Indra was the most important of the gods, the bringer of rain and the keeper of the clouds. One famous myth from back then has him rescuing the world from a drought by killing a continent-sized snake-demon named Vritra.
But over the ensuing thousands of years, as other gods like Vishnu and Shiva and Devi saw their fortunes rise, Indra was reduced to a king in name only, and his stories became less about his power and majesty and more about how drunk and lusty he is. Even his defeat of Vritra was changed so he needed Shiva's help.

And that's that!

If you haven't seen them yet, and you're interested in this sort of thing, feel free to check out the other god family trees I did: Greek, Norse, and Egyptian.

And if you'd like to put some on your walls, check out the poster versions in the Veritable Hokum store!

Oh, and I want to mention: I let this comic and its email address go for way, way too long, and I've got a pile of emails that I haven't replied to yet. I'm going through them this weekend, and will reply to all of them, but I wanted to make a blanket apology here as well.

Until next time?

~Korwin

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Hindu God Family Tree - Veritable Hokum

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
UPDATE: Hindu God Family Tree posters are ready! Let me begin by saying this is not a comprehensive Hindu God family tree - not even close. It's also at least partly wrong, although I'm sure folks will disagree over which parts. I'm trying not to feel bad about that, because it's not entirely my fault.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The concept of God or Goddess in Hinduism is different from that of monotheistic religions. The Gods of most cultures in Asia are icons of excellence to be emulated. Each represents a strength of human character. Yet, they are not absolutes and may be questioned.

Supreme divine power in Hinduism is Para Brahman. It is formless and gives life to all things. Different forms of supreme Brahman (called Avatars) are worshipped by various Hindu sects.

The unique understanding in Hinduism is that God is not far away, living in a remote heaven, but is all-pervasive and energizes the entire universe. He is also inside each soul, waiting to be discovered. Knowing the one Supreme God in this intimate and experiential way is the goal of Hindu spirituality.

Supreme God

The three gods who started creation are Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva.

Shiva is the supreme God of Hinduism. Most Hindus worship him as the Supreme Being, though by different names. This is because the peoples of India with different languages and cultures have understood the one God in their own distinct way.

Regional and family traditions can play a large part in influencing this choice. Through history four principal Hindu denominations arose - Vaishnavism, Shaktism, Shaivism, and Smartism.

For Vaishnavites, God Vishnu is God Of Supreme, For Shaktas, Goddess Shakti is supreme, For Shaivites, God Shiva is Supreme. For Smartas-who see all Deities as reflections of the One God-the choice of Deity is left to the devotee.

Most Hindus worship some form of a personal aspect of God, although they believe in the more abstract concept of a Supreme God as well.

Hindus also believe in other deities. They are referred to as Deva (masculine) and Devi (feminine). The root of these terms means "heavenly, divine, anything of excellence".

Devas and devis should not be confused with the Supreme God. These deities have distinct personalities and powers, yet are often viewed as different aspects of Brahman. They are often represented in human form or partially human and partially animal forms. Sometimes they are also represented as non-living things and plants. In ancient and medieval era texts of Hinduism, the human body is described as a temple, and deities are described to be parts residing within it.

In Hinduism the scriptures recommend that for the satisfaction of a particular material desire a person may worship a particular deity. For example, shopkeepers frequently keep a statue or picture of the devi Lakshmi in their shops.

Devas constitute an integral part of the colorful Hindu culture. These various forms of God are represented in innumerable paintings, statues, murals, and scriptural stories that can be found in temples, homes, businesses, and other places.

Each denomination worships the Supreme God and its own set of divine beings.

Avatars of Hindu deities

Hindu mythology has nurtured the concept of Avatar. Avatar is commonly translated as " incarnation" and represents the descent of a deity on earth.

The concept of Avatar is most developed in Vaishnavism tradition, and associated with Vishnu, particularly with Rama and Krishna. Vishnu takes numerous avatars in Hindu mythology. Various texts discuss the idea of Avatar of Vishnu appearing to restore the cosmic balance whenever the power of evil becomes excessive and causes persistent oppression in the world.

Temple and worship

In Hinduism, deities and their icons may be hosted in a Hindu temple, within a home or as an amulet. The worship performed by Hindus is known by a number of regional names, such as Puja.

The Puja practice is structured as an act of welcoming, hosting, honoring the deity of one's choice as one's honored guest, and remembering the spiritual and emotional significance the deity represents to the devotee.

Deity worship, visiting temples and Puja rites are not mandatory and is optional in Hinduism; it is the choice of a Hindu, it may be a routine daily affair for some Hindus, periodic ritual or infrequent for some.

Iconography

Hinduism has an ancient and extensive iconography tradition, particularly in the form of Murti. A Murti is itself not the god in Hinduism, but it is an image of god and represents emotional and religious value. Just like the photograph of a person is not the real person, a Murti is an image in Hinduism but not the real thing, but in both cases the image reminds of something of emotional and real value to the viewer. When a person worships a Murti, it is assumed to be a manifestation of the essence or spirit of the deity, the worshipper's spiritual ideas and needs are meditated through it.

A Murti of a Hindu deity is typically made by carving stone, wood working, metal casting or through pottery. Medieval era texts describe their proper proportions, positions and gestures. They are found in Hindu temples or homes, where they may be treated as a beloved guest and serve as a participant of Puja rituals in Hinduism.

Major regional and pan-Indian Hindu deities

Mahādeva, Pashupati,
Tripurantaka, Vishwanatha,
Dakshinamurthy, Kālāntaka,
Bhairava, Rudra,
Nataraja, Sadashiva, Dattatreya

Batara Guru (Indonesia)
Achalanatha (Japan)

India, Nepal, Sri Lanka

Aadi-Prajāpati, Virinci, Vaidyanaatha, Vakpati, Varishta-deva, Kamalaja, Srashtaa, Kartaa, Dhaataa

Bonten (Japan),
Phra Phrom (Thailand)

India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia

Sri Devi, Gajalakshmi, Kamalāsanā

India, Nepal, Sri Lanka

Vāgishvari, Vīnāpāni, Sharda

Benzaiten (Japan),
Biàncáitiān (China),
Thurathadi ( Myanmar),
Suratsawadi (Thailand)

India, Nepal, Java, Bali, Sri Lanka

Mariamman

India (mostly in South India),
Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka

Ardhanārīshvara (Half Shiva - Half Parvati)

India, Nepal, Sri Lanka

Hindu denominations

Hindu iconography

Hindu mythology

Puranas

List of Hindu deities

Rigvedic deities

Images for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The concept of God or Goddess in Hinduism is different from that of monotheistic religions. The Gods of most cultures in Asia are icons of excellence to be emulated. Each represents a strength of human character. Yet, they are not absolutes and may be questioned. Supreme divine power in Hinduism is Para Brahman.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For Hindus, there is a single, universal god known as the Supreme Being or Brahman. Hinduism also has numerous gods and goddesses, known as deva and devi, who represent one or more of Brahman's aspects.

Foremost among the many Hindu gods and goddesses are the Holy Triad of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, the creator, sustainer, and destroyer of worlds (in that order). Sometimes, the three may appear in the form of an avatar, embodied by a Hindu god or goddess. But the most popular of these gods and goddesses are important deities in their own right.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There are many Hindu gods and goddesses, including Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Learn about some of the most important deities of the Hindu faith.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Shatrughna (left) next to his half-brother Rama.

# data[].attributes.body
Shatrughna is Rama's half-brother and Lakshman's twin. Like Rama, he is a human but he is not blue because he isn't Vishnu reincarnated. He is very loyal and devoted to all of his brothers, especially to Bharata. He is also a brave and powerful warrior who killed many demons, including Ravana's son.
- Posted by Mrs. Weigel

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Search for pictures & additional info online from reliable sources. Write a caption here. 

# data[].attributes.body
1. Write the following:
- Describe their appearance
- Traits
- Why are they important?
- Include details from the text & online sources

2. Picture
Find a picture online & upload it.
Add a caption describing the picture.

* Don't forget to write your name!