12

The gods generally have a humanoid form: one head, two eyes, two ears, two arms, two legs, etc. Of course some gods have individual variations: Vishnu has four arms, Brahma has four heads, Indra has a thousand eyes, Ganesha has an elephant head, etc. But they're all variations on the standard human form. My question is, why do the gods, as well as other races like Asuras and Gandharvas, resemble human beings rather than other animals? Or to put it another way, why is it that humans resemble the gods, Asuras, Gandharvas, etc., and other animals do not?

The reason I ask is that critics of religion often use the anthropomorhic appearance of the gods to argue that the gods were invented by humans. For instance the Greek philosopher Xenophenes said "But if cattle and horses and lions had hands or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do, horses like horses and cattle like cattle also would depict the gods' shapes and make their bodies of such a sort as the form they themselves have." Has Hindu scripture given a response to such critiques?

Jews and Christians believe that God created man in his own image. Does Hinduism suggest a similar explanation for the appearance of humans?

Note: I'm not looking for symbolic explanations of the appearances of gods, or speculation that the appearances of gods are just how humans conceive of Brahman. I'm looking for answers that take for granted that there really is a thousand-eyed god in Swarga named Indra, a four-headed god in Brahmaloka named Brahma, etc.

Keshav Srinivasan
  • 98,014
  • 18
  • 293
  • 853
  • 2
    I think it is the other way around- human beings look like gods and believe it is for evolutionary reasons. "jantUnAm nara janma durlabham". It is only in the human form that the jIva can aspire to and has the wherewithal to transcend life and death and attain higher states some of these being siddha sareeras, teja sareeras etc. which are closer to godhood. Exceptions of animals attaining higher states exist but those are just that - exceptions, most of which have had exceptional, super-human spiritual attainments in previous lives. –  Jul 27 '17 at 05:04
  • 5
    Swami Vivekananda said very similar to Xenophenes. He said that man shapes God in images that he can relate to. The highest living entities in this world are humans, thus the gods are seen with human characteristics. Humans are the greatest living beings as they are the ones that can attain liberation. Even the gods have to be reborn as humans. – Swami Vishwananda Jul 27 '17 at 05:07
  • 1
    @moonstar2001 Yeah, I too think that it's humans who resemble the gods rather than vice versa - that's why I made a connection to "God made Man in his own image". And yeah, I think it's plausible that the explanation has something to do with humans being the only animal capable of attaining Moksha under normal circumstances. In any case, I'd like to see whether Hindu scripture says anything about the reason the human form resembles the gods. – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 27 '17 at 05:14
  • The concept of God/Goddesses evolved in the human mind that there is a super being who will come to the rescue/help/guide humans. Gods are described as human form because man can think of human to relate with God in every mythology in the world with addition of number of hands, heads etc. In Hinduism, we worship all forms of creation as can be seen Dasavataras, fish, tortoise, Bear, half man and half animal, trees, snakes and so on, if one names it one finds hindus worship. In short, Hindus worship man and nature. – CR241 Jul 27 '17 at 05:31
  • "Asuras, Gandharvas, etc., and other animals do not?" No. Mahishasura (Mahisha + Asura) is half Asura and water buffalo like Ganesha (though it is not proper to compare Ganesha with him). "I'm looking for answers that take for granted that there really is a thousand-eyed god in Swarga named Indra, a four-headed god in Brahmaloka named Brahma, etc." But how do you prove others? They don't take Hindu Scriptures for granted and you too know Scriptural references for them. But what exactly do you mean by 'that statement'? – The Destroyer Jul 27 '17 at 05:36
  • @TheDestroyer "Mahishasura (Mahisha + Asura) is half Asura and water buffalo like Ganesha" OK, but that's another example of what I said in the beginning, i.e. it's a variation on the standard human form. – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 27 '17 at 05:45
  • 1
    @TheDestroyer But how do you prove others? They don't take Hindu Scriptures for granted and you too know Scriptural references for them." To be clear, I'm not asking "How do we know that the gods exist?" (That would require an extensive explanation involving demonstrating the validity of Sabda Pramana.) I'm just trying to find out, assuming you accept the scriptural descriptions of the gods' appearance, why their appearance resembles that of humans (with minor variations). The note at the end is just designed to exclude explanations that reject the existence of the gods or their appearance. – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 27 '17 at 05:48
  • @SwamiVishwananda As we discussed in the comment section here, we disagree on the issue of whether the gods are eligible for Jnana. By the way, can you take a look at my Advaita question here: https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/19765/36 – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 27 '17 at 06:08
  • @KeshavSrinivasan cattle and other humans could have other representations of their gods. The golden calf which egyptians worshipped is well-known. If animals consider humans superior, their god may be humanoid. The representation of Anirudha is quite unusual (inhuman?) in the shweta dwipa. If God had wanted us to reach moksha or any form of ideal following some set of Dharmic practices (which we assume as valid), a humanoid body is convenient... – user1952500 Jul 27 '17 at 16:46
  • ...Of course, one could argue that this is an anthropomorphic argument and cows do follow their own religion, but it doesn't seem like the cows show outwardly religious practices. – user1952500 Jul 27 '17 at 16:46
  • 3
    Well this sloka of Srimad Bhagavatam explicitly says that Brahma created humans to resemble him. The whole chapter describes how he offered parta or semblance of his form to each of his creation and how he created Humans "In his Own Image". – Surya Jul 27 '17 at 17:07
  • @Surya OK thanks, can you post that as an answer? – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 27 '17 at 17:09
  • 2
    @Surya 'Brahma created humans to resemble him' - So over millions of years, Brahma caused apes to evolve in to current day humans to look like him? And before humans evolved in to their current form, how did Brahma look like? Did Brahma always have a white beard or did he age slowly while humans were evolving? – Say No To Censorship Jul 27 '17 at 18:08
  • 4
    @sv. The Srimad Bhagavatam is talking about humans beings created fully formed directly out of Brahma's body, not about evolution. Now if you're interested in how Hinduism deals with evolution, different Hindus have different views on it. Some reject the theory of evolution outright, and have written books arguing against it. Other Hindus accept evolution, and argue that there were originally two kinds of humans, humans who were evolved from apes and humans who were descended from the gods, and that the two races merged. Still others give a symbolic interpretation of Hindu scripture. – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 27 '17 at 19:30
  • Comments are not for extended conversation, Use chat room for further discussion. – Pandya Jul 28 '17 at 05:44
  • @KeshavSrinivasan Christians and Jews do not believe that God looks like a human. In fact, they believe that God has no appearance at all. – Terjij Kassal Dec 27 '22 at 20:02
  • @KeshavSrinivasan Where does it say that devas look like human beings? For all we know, if we accept your premises, they could look like zebras, or lizards, for those creatures have limbs and eyes as well. – Terjij Kassal Jan 11 '23 at 02:59

3 Answers3

7

why do the gods resemble human beings rather than other animals?

I am providing answer of your question from Aitareya Upanishad vreses.

It's said in the Upanishad that In the beginning the absolute Self was alone. Then He thought, "Let Me create the world's". & then He created the world's.

स ईक्षतेमे नु लोका लोकपालान्नु सृजा इति सोSद्भ्य एव पुरुष समुद्धृत्यामुर्छयत् ||1.1.3||

Sa IkshaTeme Nu Loka LokaPaLaaNuu Sruja Iti
SoDbhya Eva Purusha SaMuDdhruTyaMurchhayat

He thought, "These then are the worlds. Let Me create the protectors of the worlds." Having gathered up a (lump of the) human form from the water itself, He gave shape to it.

So It’s said that the creator took lump (like clay) and given the shape to it like Purusha i.e a humanoid form Or figure - with head , hands etc. That we call as Virat purusha .

Then he created the deities. And He subjected Him (i.e. Virat Purusha ) to hunger and thirst. Then the deities asked lord to provide the abode for them ,from where they can eat food. Then..

ताभ्यो गामानयत्ता अब्रुवन्न वै नोSयमलमिति |
ताभ्योSश्वमानयत्ता अब्रुवन्न वै नोSयमलमिति ||1.2.2||

Tabhyo GaaMaaNaYaTta AbruVaNna Vai NoYamLMiti
Tabhyo ShawaMaaNaYaTta AbruVaNna Vai NoYamLMiti

For them He (i.e. God) brought a cow. They said, "This one is not certainly adequate for us." For them He brought a horse. They said, "This one is not certainly adequate for us."

It’s said here that the lord bought the lump (Pinda) ,creature shaped like cow and horse. But the deities said that these shapes are not good for us to have our food in right way Or adequately .

Then he bought the Virat Purusha in human form to them and they liked it.

ताभ्य: पुरुषमानयत्ता अब्रुवन् सुकृतं बतेति |
पुरुषो वाव सुकृतम् | ता अब्रवीद्यथायतनं प्रविशतेति ||3||

For them He brought a man. They said "This one is well formed; man indeed is a creation of God Himself". To them He said, "Enter into your respective abodes".

Now although deities entered into their respective abodes i.e Indriyas ,but we can’t represent them like organs. Like we can’t graphically represent Prana Vayu as Or Mind as Chandrama. And even its not appropriate to represent deities like organs also cause then they will not look like divine beings.

Conclusion - So I think as deities liked this humanoid form because it is indeed the most beautiful creation of lord and found it appropriate to reside for receiving food I.e prayers etc. That indirectly means they specifically chosen this form in which they should have to be worshiped , We generally depict them in human form.And that is the reason why gods looks like human beings.

SwiftPushkar
  • 32,135
  • 6
  • 88
  • 156
  • Well this explains 'Him' creating 'Man' but where does it says how exactly does He himself looks like? – Just_Do_It Sep 20 '17 at 13:41
  • Upanishds are not like puranas or mythology.They only give you creation stories in brief. Here HE means nirguna Brahman ,cosmic soul which is unconditional. – SwiftPushkar Sep 20 '17 at 13:47
2

Gods do have characteristics that humans do not have. Indra has thousand eyes unlike human beings.

https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m17/m17003.htm

Vaishampayana said: "Then Shakra, causing the firmament and the Earth to be filled by a loud sound, came to the son of Pritha on a car and asked him to ascend it. Beholding his brothers fallen on the Earth, king Yudhishthira the just said unto that deity of a 1,000 eyes these words: ‘My brothers have all dropped down here. They must go with me. Without them by me I do not wish to go to Heaven, O lord of all the deities. The delicate princess (Draupadi) deserving of every comfort, O Purandara, should go with us. It behoveth thee to permit this.’

Fun life
  • 3,226
  • 7
  • 29
1

It is as I suspected, gods don't resemble human beings, rather human beings resemble gods. Brahma created humans in his own image, as described in this chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam:

One day Brahmā, the self-born, the first living creature, felt as if the object of his life had been accomplished. At that time he evolved from his mind the Manus, who promote the welfare activities of the universe. The self-possessed creator gave them his own human form. On seeing the Manus, those who had been created earlier — the demigods, the Gandharvas and so on — applauded Brahmā, the lord of the universe. They prayed: "O creator of the universe, we are glad; what you have produced is well done. Since ritualistic acts have now been established soundly in this human form, we shall all share the sacrificial oblations."

Keshav Srinivasan
  • 98,014
  • 18
  • 293
  • 853