Popular Gods and Godesses
| God Name | |
| BRAHMA | The God of Creation |
| VISHNU | The God of Protection |
| SHIVA | The God of Destruction |
| GANESHA | The God of Good Luck, son of Lord Shiva and Parvati |
| RAMA | The hero of epic Ramayana, one of the reincarnations of Lord Vishnu |
| KRISHNA | God of Love, the hero of epic Mahabharta. Another reincarnation of Lord Vishnu |
| SARASWATI | Wife of Lord Brahma, Goddess of Wisdom and Music |
| LAXMI | Wife of Lord Vishnu, Goddess of Wealth |
| PARVATI | Wife of Lord Shiva, mother of Ganesha |
| KAALI | One of the 108 manifestations of Parvati, black Goddess - destroyer of evil |
| DURGA | One of the 108 manifestations of Parvati, Goddess of war, rides on a tiger |
| HANUMAAN | The monkey God, Lord Rama’s faithful follower |
| GARUDA | The mythical bird, Lord Vishnu’s carrier |
| NARASIHMA | One of the 10 reincarnations of Lord Vishnu – half man half lion |
| GURU NANAK | The first Sikh messenger, worshipped as God |
Some Religious Lingo
| Religious Lingo | |
| MANDIR | Hindu temple |
| BHAGWAD GEETA | The sermon by Krishna ,the holy book of Hindus |
| PUNDIT | Holy Hindu priests |
| SAADHU | Holy men usually in orange and white robes |
| VEDAS | Most ancient collection of Hindu hymns and scriptures |
| PURANAS | Another set of Hindu sacred scriptures |
| MANTRAS | Holy Hindu chants. The most popular being ‘Om’ |
| AARTI | One of the most important Hindu rituals, performed twice every day (at sunrise and sunset) in all active Hindu temples, by a temple priest called ‘pundit’. |
| GURUDWARA | Sikh temple |
| GURU GRANTH SAHIB | Holy book of Sikhs |
| MAZJID | Muslim mosque |
| QURAN | Holy book of Muslims |
