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Dharamkira
Carved sandstone figures of gods and attendants in niches of the Rani ki Vav stepwell

Deva Darshan — know the gods

The Deities

The great gods and goddesses of Sanatana Dharma — where they come from, why they came, the tales the tradition tells of them, and what each one teaches a life today.

Our deity images are real classical paintings and prints — public-domain works by Raja Ravi Varma and the traditional schools, and open-licensed museum scans — chosen by hand and credited on the About page. Nothing here is AI-imagined.

Photo: SnehrashmiCC BY-SA 4.0CC BY-SA 4.0
New to these words?
Mantra
Sacred words or sounds, usually in Sanskrit, repeated to steady the mind and honour the divine.
Puja
Worship at home or temple — offering light, flowers, food and prayers to a deity.
Vrat
A day of promise — often fasting or eating simply — kept for a deity or a loved one's wellbeing.
Jayanti
A birthday celebration — of a deity, saint or great soul.
Dhyana
Meditation — giving the mind one quiet thing to rest on, like the breath, a flame or a mantra.
Shloka
A Sanskrit verse — two lines of sacred poetry, like those in the Gita.
Sankalpa
The little promise you speak at the start of a puja or practice, saying what you are doing and why.
Aarti
Waving a lit lamp in slow circles before the deity while singing — the glowing finale of a puja.
All the words →
Ganesha in a yellow dhoti and jewelled crown riding his mouse across a green landscape, an axe and a sweet in his hands — a bazaar print of 1910.

श्री गणेश

Ganesha

5 tales & teachings

Shiva seated in meditation on a tiger skin, a cobra hood above his head, Parvati beside him and the ghats of Kashi (Benares) behind — a colour lithograph of about 1895.

महादेव

Shiva

5 tales & teachings

The goddess enthroned in a red sari under a canopy, attendants fanning her, a musician with a veena at her feet — a Ravi Varma Press print titled Ambika.

पार्वती

Parvati

4 tales & teachings

Goddess Durga on her lion, many-armed with weapons, subduing the buffalo demon Mahishasura — a Ravi Varma Press print.

माँ दुर्गा

Durga Mata

4 tales & teachings

Goddess Kali, dark-skinned with flowing hair and a garland, sword raised, standing over the reclining Shiva — a Ravi Varma Press print.

माँ काली

Kali Mata

4 tales & teachings

Goddess Lakshmi standing on a pink lotus in a forest pool, four-armed, holding lotuses, with a white elephant and swans — a Raja Ravi Varma painting.

माँ लक्ष्मी

Lakshmi

4 tales & teachings

Goddess Saraswati seated on a rock by a river, playing the veena, a peacock beside her — a Raja Ravi Varma painting.

माँ सरस्वती

Saraswati

4 tales & teachings

Vishnu seated on the coils of the serpent Shesha, whose hoods rise behind him, with his two consorts on either side over the waters — a chromolithograph after Raja Ravi Varma.

श्री विष्णु

Vishnu

4 tales & teachings

Rama enthroned with Sita, flanked by Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna, Hanuman kneeling at his feet — a Raja Ravi Varma lithograph.

श्रीराम

Rama

4 tales & teachings

Krishna in a golden dhoti playing the flute beside Radha, two white cows behind them and palace pillars in the background — an 1897 chromolithograph.

श्रीकृष्ण

Krishna

4 tales & teachings

Hanuman striding forward with the Sanjeevani mountain held aloft in one hand and his mace in the other — a Ravi Varma Press print.

श्री हनुमान

Hanuman

4 tales & teachings

Six-faced Kartikeya (Murugan) seated on his peacock with Valli and Devasena, the peacock's tail fanned behind — a Raja Ravi Varma print.

कार्तिकेय

Kartikeya

4 tales & teachings

Surya the sun god crowned within a blazing halo, riding his chariot drawn by seven horses across the sky — an early Ravi Varma Press lithograph.

सूर्य देव

Surya

4 tales & teachings

Blue-skinned Shani, crowned and haloed, seated on a golden chariot with a bow, the chariot drawn by a crow.

शनि देव

Shani Dev

4 tales & teachings

Four-faced Brahma in gold robes riding his white swan across a red ground, holding a manuscript, rosary and water-pot — a Pahari painting of about 1720.

ब्रह्मा

Brahma

3 tales & teachings

These histories are retold faithfully from named scriptures and living tradition, and regional tellings are honoured where they differ. Like all religious content on Dharamkira, they await final review before public launch.