Religious Idols

These days there are many of us who have Indian friends and colleagues that we wish to gift something special to, but have no idea what will be appreciated. Knowing of their religious standing or practices is not enough to go out and buy a religious gift, at least for a Hindu. After all, there are more than a 100 million gods that are worshipped in the religion. You might be better off casually asking the recipient what his favorite religious idols are. Chances are you will come across names like Ganpati or Ganesh, Krishna, Saraswati, Shiva, Vishnu, Rama Sita, Natraj, Lakshami, Kali, Bal Gopal, and Balaji. An ideal gift would be to find a beautiful statue and present it on the special occasion. Most religious Hindus love being gifted gods’ idols and statues, to keep in their prayer room or at focus places within the house for decorative purposes.

All the gods and goddesses in Hinduism have legends and stories about them that have been passed down from generation to generation. In fact, if you search the internet, you can find quite a few interesting stories about each of the names mentioned above. One of the most common stories told is about Lord Vishnu and the mighty demon King Bali that made all the gods in heaven apprehensive of the universe’s future. The story goes something like this:

There was once a Demon King named Bali. The king was said to be a true devotee of Lord Vishnu and spent many hours a day in prayer. The Lord was once so pleased with his devotion that he had made him invincible in the battle field as a reward. The King had realized the boon he had been given and started taking undue advantage of this by defeating all gods in battle. All the gods in heaven worried about his growing strength and wondered how he could be distracted or controlled. At last Lord Vishnu came to the rescue, by disguising himself as a common human being in the form of a dwarf Vamana. King Bali was always known as a generous king and prided himself for being so. Hence, when the dwarf asked the mighty king for space which could be covered in three steps, he gladly agreed to oblige against the warning given by his Guru Sukracharya. Soon Vamana grew so large that in one foot he touched the entire Earth, another foot touched the heavens and then King Bali did not have a third foot to provide so he bowed his head to Vamana who then put his third foot on King Bali’s head. However, being worshipped by Mahabali and his ancestor Prahláda, he conceded to them the sovereignty of Patala (netherworld).

Such stories make the various Hindu religious idols all the more appealing. Plus, once you take a look around at the many varieties of statues available in the market, you will be tempted to pick up an idol or two for your own home.

Hindu Deity Statues

Hindu deity statues are widely available for sale online. All you have to do is find the one that you desire. Since Hinduism is a vast religion and there are millions of recognized deities that are worshipped, this may be a challenging task. The first question you need to ask yourself is regarding the purpose of this buy. If you are looking to procure a deity statue for decorative purposes, you may want to look for beautiful Radha Krishna statues, Ganesh statues, Natraj statues, and the like, which can be found with intricate detailing to make them an ideal center piece for any home. On the other hand, if you are looking for specific gods or goddess for your praying rooms then form of the deity is of crucial importance. For example, there are various forms of Krishna found for sale. These may be Bal Krishna, Krishna as a young man playing his flute, Krishna with Radha by his side, or lord Krishna on a chariot with Arjun.

Lord Krishna is one of the avatars of lord Vishnu. Being the central character in the epic Mahabharata, his life stories are a favorite among children and adults alike. His personality and being was so enchanting and fascinating that even today many believe him to be one of the most complex and intriguing characters among all the Hindu gods. There are many tales of his amorous acts and adventures starting from the time he was born, a young boy killing the great snake Kaliya, a young man flirting with all the young women of the village, to being the king of Dwarka and eventually being a great preacher by quoting the Bhagvad Gita.

One of the best known stories about the lord is about him and a large serpent named Kaliya. It is said that Kaliya and his many snake-wives left their home Ramanaka Dwipa and came to Vrindawan and started dwelling in the river Yamuna. Lord Krishna and his friends were once playing by the river and the ball they were playing with fell into the water. Krishna quickly jumped into the river to retrieve it but the great serpent was disturbed and rose up with his hundred and ten hoods to kill the young boy. On seeing this, Lord Krishna took an even larger form and climbed up to the serpent’s head and started stomping it and dancing on it. Kaliya then started to vomit poison and began to die. Upon seeing this Kaliya’s many wives came near and started pleading Krishna to forgive him and pardon his life. Even Kaliya realized that this was not just any boy, but a form of the Almighty himself, and surrendered, promising to go back home and never return to harm anyone again.

You can even look for Hindu deity statues depicting some interesting story, such as this to grace your home.

Elephant Statues

Elephant statues are a common sight in many households across different countries of the world. One of the reasons for this may be that there are plenty of similar beliefs associated with the presence of such statues at home or in the workplace. In a majority of cultures it is believed that elephant statues that have the animal’s trunk pointing upwards bring good luck to the home or place where it is kept. Elephants in general have been considered to be mystical and legendary. Considered as a symbol of wisdom, prosperity and power, these sacred and majestic creatures have had their dominance in many Eastern tales and ancient stories.

Today people place elephant statues in their houses as decorative pieces. Beautiful and attractive, elephant statues are loved by children and elders alike. A part of this fondness lies in the many stories one has heard growing up. An old Indian fable, which was later popularized by the celebrated American poet John Godfrey Saxe is one such story many of us have heard. The story is called Six Blind Men and an Elephant.

Once there were six blind Indian men who went to see an elephant. And while each of them was blind, they wanted to touch the elephant and figure out what kind of creature it is. The first man happened to touch the elephant’s side and thought it to be a wall. The second touched only his tusk and concluded that the animal is just like a spear. The third blind man felt the elephant’s trunk and claimed that it was just like a snake, while the fourth man touched the knee and confirmed that the elephant was exactly like a tree. The fifth happened to touch the creature’s ear and concluded that it was like a fan, and the last blind man touched its swinging tail and felt it to be just like a rope. And since each one of them had felt and come to a conclusion, started arguing about their opinion of the animal being accurate, but while they all were partly right they were all wrong.

Another old Indian tale teaches children the evils of being too proud. There was once an elephant swimming in the water. The elephant was very proud of his enormous size and status in the jungle. Seeing his feet dangle beneath the water, an alligator caught his limb and started pulling him into the depths. The elephant then realized that his size was of no use and started to pray to the almighty to help him escape. God then appeared and set him free of the alligator’s clasp.

Such colourful tales and all the other myths and beliefs associated with elephant statues, make them very popular with people even today.

Indian Gods Statues

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in history. While Hindus are believed to have 330 million gods, all devotees believe that there is only one almighty God. This concept may be hard to understand for some. Maybe the following example might be of assistance to shed some light on this idea. Think of a tree that is huge and wide spread. Now if the tree was the ultimate God, the almighty, then its many branches can be said to be the millions of gods worshipped by Hindus. And the leaves can be thought of as the different Avatars or manifestations of the various gods and goddesses. In view of the fact that there are so many gods and goddesses, and that Hindus believe in idol worship, you can come across a wide variety of Indian gods’ statues for sale at online stores.

Some of the most popularly celebrated deities in Hinduism are Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, Lord Hanuman, Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Lord Vishnu, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Lakshami and Lord Shani. Every god is worshipped and praised for his characteristics and legendary life incidences. If we talk about Lord Ram; his characteristics which stood him apart were morality and virtue. These traits made him an ideal son and king of his time. While many have heard of the epic, Ramayana, only a few have read the Sanskrit book that may be considered to be the life story and principal scripture about Lord Rama. Ramayana was written by saint Valmiki and is considered as one of the important epics in the religion.

Lord Rama is also known as Shri Ram, Ramachandra and Maryada Purushottama and believed to be the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. This king of Ayodhya’s names has specific meanings that are metaphoric representations of his many characteristics. Ramachandra literally means Rama like the full moon in all its glory. On the other hand Maryada Purushottama translates into being the epitome of righteousness. Lord Rama is also recognized in Jainism as one of the nine, white Balas. Commonly chanted mantras of Rama are ‘Ram Naam Satya Hai’ and ‘Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram’. The mantra, ‘Ram Naam Satya Hai’ is chanted by Hindus from all over the world while carrying a dead body to be cremated. This is done so to imply that the body which can no longer say the lord’s name is of no value to the living world and hence is to be reduced to ashes.

There are many short stories about Lord Rama that aspire the devotees to live righteously and on the path of truth at all times. You can find Lord Rama or other Indian gods statues in most Hindu homes. And while you may belong to another religion, it may be interesting to realize how all the religious teaching and implications point towards that one Almighty God.

Indian Gods’ Statues

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in history. While Hindus are believed to have 330 million gods, all devotees believe that there is only one almighty God. This concept may be hard to understand for some. Maybe the following example might be of assistance to shed some light on this idea. Think of a tree that is huge and wide spread. Now if the tree was the ultimate God, the almighty, then its many branches can be said to be the millions of gods worshipped by Hindus. And the leaves can be thought of as the different Avatars or manifestations of the various gods and goddesses. In view of the fact that there are so many gods and goddesses, and that Hindus believe in idol worship, you can come across a wide variety of Indian gods’ statues for sale at online stores.

Some of the most popularly celebrated deities in Hinduism are Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, Lord Hanuman, Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Lord Vishnu, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Lakshami and Lord Shani. Every god is worshipped and praised for his characteristics and legendary life incidences. If we talk about Lord Ram; his characteristics which stood him apart were morality and virtue. These traits made him an ideal son and king of his time. While many have heard of the epic, Ramayana, only a few have read the Sanskrit book that may be considered to be the life story and principal scripture about Lord Rama. Ramayana was written by saint Valmiki and is considered as one of the important epics in the religion.

Lord Rama is also known as Shri Ram, Ramachandra and Maryada Purushottama and believed to be the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. This king of Ayodhya’s names has specific meanings that are metaphoric representations of his many characteristics. Ramachandra literally means Rama like the full moon in all its glory. On the other hand Maryada Purushottama translates into being the epitome of righteousness. Lord Rama is also recognized in Jainism as one of the nine, white Balas. Commonly chanted mantras of Rama are ‘Ram Naam Satya Hai’ and ‘Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram’. The mantra, ‘Ram Naam Satya Hai’ is chanted by Hindus from all over the world while carrying a dead body to be cremated. This is done so to imply that the body which can no longer say the lord’s name is of no value to the living world and hence is to be reduced to ashes.

There are many short stories about Lord Rama that aspire the devotees to live righteously and on the path of truth at all times. You can find Lord Rama or other Indian gods statues in most Hindu homes. And while you may belong to another religion, it may be interesting to realize how all the religious teaching and implications point towards that one Almighty God.