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Great acharyas like Ramanujacharya have stated that Lord Narayana is the supreme being and other gods like Brahma and Shiva occupy subordinate positions. Yet many common people believe that all 3 gods in the trinity are the same. Do the vedas support such a position?

user15740
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    Yes. Taittiriya Aranyaka MahAnArAyaNa upanishad (Andhra recension) says - sa brahmA sa Siva sa harih sendrah soksharah...He (Narayana) is brahmA, Siva, Hari, Indra, Akshara... –  Dec 29 '19 at 09:27
  • The acharya you mentioned was a Vaishnava acharya. So, for him obviously Vishnu will be supreme. What he said is therefore not at all surprising. BTW the fact that one should see trinities equally without discriminating between them is mentioned in the Puranas and not in the Vedas. – Rickross Dec 29 '19 at 10:50
  • Oh yeah and by the way, Narayana himself says exactly the same thing to Markandeya in the Mahabharata Vana parva 3.187 - Apo nArA iti proktAH sa~nj~nAnAma kRRitaM mayA | tena nArAyaNo.asmyukto mama taddhyayanaM sadA || 3|| ahaM nArAyaNo nAma prabhavaH shAshvato.avyayaH | vidhAtA sarvabhUtAnAM saMhartA cha dvijottama || 4|| ahaM viShNurahaM brahmA shakrashchAhaM surAdhipaH | ahaM vaishravaNo rAjA yamaH pretAdhipastathA || 5|| ahaM shivashcha somashcha kashyapashcha prajApatiH | ahaM dhAtA vidhAtA cha yaj~nashchAhaM dvijottama || 6|| –  Dec 29 '19 at 10:52
  • Let the OP clarify, as to what does he/she mean by Veda? Were mantras from Rig Veda alone or mantras from Rig , yaju, sAma, atharva Veda or something else? @I will close your question – Srimannarayana K V Dec 29 '19 at 11:16
  • @srimannarayanakv Please dont use spaces in the name while notifying me. I will not get a notification in such a case. As for OP's question, I quoted sources that are accepted by both Shankara and the Great Acharya(TM) Ramanuja. –  Dec 29 '19 at 11:34
  • Who said Ramanujacharya is the final authority? Praphupada said Krishna is supreme, Avadhutas says Shiva is supreme, Tantra says Devi is supreme. A cult is formed when a group of people cram some teachings of a leader without questioning and understanding. –  Dec 29 '19 at 14:15
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    Does this answer your question? How were the Trimurthi born? – Sanatan Darshan Dec 30 '19 at 06:23
  • Your question is here answered https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/237/19001 – Sanatan Darshan Dec 30 '19 at 06:24
  • Whenever krishna or vedas says I'm indra among devatha I'm prahalad among Asura it doesn't mean that they themselves are god it refers antaryami same and they vishesha vibuthi of lord present in them. Advaita will say you are ourselfs lord of universe once realization achieved according to advaita but we see many gurus claimed have been impacted by human diseases during their life time itself they died and their body rotten or decayed If they controller of universe why this misnomer something fundamentally wrong advautic concept which will severely harm ones soul – Prasanna R Oct 20 '20 at 02:06

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Not only 3 gods, but all gods and goddesses are the same. If you haven't already heard of the famous Rig Vedic verse 1.164.46:

इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान् ।
एकं सद् विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः ॥

They call Agni as Indra, Mitra, Varuna, and the divine golden-feathered great being. The one reality Agni, the sages call variously, as Yama and Matarishva.

Also, the great Niruktakara Yaskacharya says (7.4):

माहाभाग्याद् देवताया एक आत्मा बहुधा स्तूयते । एकस्यात्मनोऽन्ये देवाः प्रत्यङ्गानि भवन्ति । ... इतरेतरजन्मानो भवन्ति । इतरेतरप्रकृतयः । कर्मजन्मानः । आत्मजन्मानः । ... आत्मा सर्वं देवस्य ।

Due to the majesty of the deity, one Atman is praised in many ways. Of the one Atman, the many deities are limbs... They are born from one another. They have each other's nature. They are born because of their specific function. They are born from the Atman. The Atman is the all-in-all of the deity.

RamAbloh
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