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Though they're one. We all are one. But have different illusory identities. It is foolish to say that Stories of Lord Shiva and Vishnu were created for entertainment purpose. Why would they mislead us with entertainment? Anyway,

Lord Mahavishnu resides in Ksheer Sagar right? Lord Brahma were born from Lord Vishnu's navel right?. When did Lord Shiva came into play?

I have 2 versions of the creation of this universe. One is that everything originated from Lord Vishnu (All the multiverses) and will be absorbed again into Vishnu. Another version states that everything originated from Lord Shiva, when nothing existed, Lord Shiva was there. Shiva then divided himself into Shiv + Adi Shakti to help Lord Brahma carry out the creation.

Which of these two stories is true? Or rather, can anyone arrange these incidents in sequence?

San Jay Vig
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    This question has been asked only a zillion times on this site. The answer is as follows: If you are a Vaishnavite, then Shiva Purana is wrong, and Vishnu is the uncreated Being. If you are a Shaivite then Vishnu Puranas are wrong, and Shiva is the Eternal Being. If you are an Advaitin, then both Shiva and Vishnu are forms of the Eternal Being called as Brahman. All the best! – Sai Oct 21 '15 at 19:14
  • You can see this question http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/8527/3500 – The Destroyer Oct 22 '15 at 05:23

2 Answers2

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All the gods name denotes a quality

vishnu: The traditional Sanskrit explanation of the name Vishu involves the root viś, meaning "to settle, to enter", or also (in the Rigveda) "to pervade", and a suffix nu, translating to approximately "the All-Pervading One". '

Shiva: Shiva (/ˈʃivə/; Sanskrit: Śiva, meaning "The Auspicious One"),

The Rig veda also says

Ekam Sat, Viprah Bahudha Vadanti - that which exists is One: sages call it by various names

Mayakkooththan
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    Though Sages call god as one with different names. But this isn't limited to God not having Vishnu and Shiva form. They never mentioned individual identities of GOD didn't existed. Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti all are interconnected and are one. – San Jay Vig Oct 22 '15 at 11:29
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These stories will find place in Puranas only. Most of the Puranas contains skewed opinions/stories written to elevate the status of respective deities.

There was no idol worship in the Vedic Era. Gods were worshiped through fire only.

In the Vedic period there was no sectarian worship of GODS. Whether a person follower of Vedic of Life or not , That only mattered.

The reasons for change of worship in Sanaatana Dharma, otherwise known as Hinduism, are as follows:

  1. Till Mahabharata period, i.e, around 3102 B.C., the Gods from Vedic Pantheon were worshiped.

Lord Brahma is the Ruler of of all Worlds. - ब्रह्मा लोकाधिपो यथा (Srimad Ramayana, Bala Kanda). Indra's status was held next to him.

The Who is Who of Kings of Mahabharata Era, except a few, fought and got eliminated in the Mahabharata war. After the Rule of Pandavas that lasted for 36 years, no strong administration, directing the people in general in adhering to Vedic Way of life, in the entire country was in place.

This lead to decadence in Human values and grouping among various petty rulers.

Dominant rulers aided by some scholars created new Gods and started creating own groups.

(i) As a result, Vishnu, who was one among 33 Gods, had been elevated to the status of God of Gods.

(ii) Shiva could not found in Vedic Pantheon. The Vedic God Rudra's structure, appearance, status,etc, were altered and named Shiva, and was elevated to the staus of MAHAADEVA.

(iii) No mention can be found about Shakti or Rajarajeswari in Vedic Pantheon. Even Sri Krishna did not mention about her in his Bhagavad Gita.

(iv) The present day prominent God, Ganapati did not find place in Vedic Pantheon.

In order to elevate Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti , naturally the status of Lord Brahma has to be degraded, without which Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti cannot be marketed as God of Gods.

So all the Puranas were written inventing stories that show Lord Brahma in bad light and elevate Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti.

Srimannarayana K V
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  • "After the Rule of Pandavas that lasted for 36 years, no strong administration, directing the people in general in adhering to Vedic Way of life, in the entire country was in place." That's not true in the slightest. Arjuna's great-grandson Janamejaya conquered the entire Earth as part of a Rajasuya Yagna; see the excerpt from the Aitareya Brahmana of the Rig Veda linked to in my answer here: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/7395/36 It was Janamajeya who instituted the 4-priest Yagna (as opposed to the earlier 3-priest Yagna). So in the post-Pandava age, Vedic practices were thriving. – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 22 '15 at 03:15
  • Vedic Yagnas only started to decline after the advent of Buddhism and Jainism. Members of these religions criticized Vedic practices like animal sacrifice, and the dominant philosophical school at the time, Purva Mimamsa, was unable to defend Hinduism because members of the Purva Mimamsa school didn't even believe in the existence of the gods. So significant numbers people started abandoning the Yagnas, and Hinduism more generally. Finalky Adi Shankaracharya was able to defeat the Buddhists, because he came from the Vedanta school rather than Purva Mimamsa. That's how Vedanta became dominant. – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 22 '15 at 03:23
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    @KeshavSrinivasan: I stand corrected in respect of Administration point. – Srimannarayana K V Oct 22 '15 at 03:39
  • @KeshavSrinivasan: Making of offering to Gods through Agni was prevalent in Srimad Ramayana era, as Sage Valmiki described Sage Agstya doing so. However, King Dasaratha performed Asmetha Yagna, to cleanse his sins. I do not know about other Yagnas. So I cannot comment on your statement that "Vedic Yagnas only started to decline after the advent of Buddhism and Jainism. Members of these religions criticized Vedic practices like animal sacrifice, " – Srimannarayana K V Oct 22 '15 at 06:30
  • There's no reason to claim that there was no Idol worship back then. This information is altered by Arabians. Universe and Human race is older than you can perceive. I understand no reason for puranas to be falsley written to mislead the upcoming generations. – San Jay Vig Oct 22 '15 at 06:55
  • Whatever you have written doesn't make sense. Everyone knows how Lord Brahma was born. Everyone knows who is Shiva and Vishnu and Shakti. No one elevated the status of any Gods. – Pinakin Oct 22 '15 at 10:57
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    @srimannarayanakv Making an offering to the gods through fire is exactly what a Yagna is. In any case, for more information on Yagnas you can refer to the Vedas. – Keshav Srinivasan Oct 22 '15 at 12:24
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    @srimannarayanakv "The Vedic God Rudra's structure, appearance, status,etc, were altered and named Shiva, and was elevated to the staus of MAHAADEVA." First of all name is not altered. Name already used in YajurVeda 3.60 for Rudra ie. Shiva was used: read my question and answer here http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/15124/how-rudra-became-shiva-in-vedas and here http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/13649/what-names-of-lord-shiva-used-today-are-from-vedas/13650#13650 – Tezz Sep 27 '16 at 04:57
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    @srimannarayanakv and it is not latter elevation by the name Mahadeva. Read this chapter of Satapatha Brahmana.. where Prajapati states "You are Pasupati. You are Mahadeva. You are Ishana. http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe41/sbe4130.htm – Tezz Sep 27 '16 at 04:59