Thread by @wanysharma

’33 Crore Gods’ is a completely misinterpreted fact due to wrong translation of Vedic Sanskrit by certain foreign 'scholars'.
The term ‘trayastrimsati koti’ mentioned in Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda, and Satapatha-brahmana, is rightly translated as 33 Gods.

The term koti in Sanskrit has two meaning, one is ‘type’ and the other is Crore.
So, somewhere in translation, they missed the basic fact that Sanatana Dharma/Hinduism has 33 Supreme Gods and not 33 Crore Gods.

According to Vedas there are 33 Gods/Devas.( In the following pattern : 12 + 11 + 8 + 2.)
12 is the number of Adityas, 11 are the number of Rudras, 8 is the number of Vasus, 1 is Prajapati, the Master of Gods, and 1 is the Supreme Ruler who is very powerful

Names of all 33 Vedic deities:
12 Adityas (personified deities) correspond to the 12 Solar months and represent different attributes of social life. The Vedic sages especially venerated the Adityas and Vedas are full of hymns dedicated to Indra, Agni, Surya, Varun and the like.

12 Names of Aditya
These are👇🏻

8 Vasus are attendant deities of Indra and comprise of eight elemental gods that represent the different aspects of Nature.
1. Anil (Wind),
2. Apas (Water),
3. Antariksh/Dyaus (Space),
4. Dhara (Earth),
5. Dhruv (Pole Star),
6. Anal/Agni(Fire),
7. Prabhas (Dawn),
8. Soma (Moon).

11 Rudras:
✓5 abstractions – Ānanda (bliss), Vijñāna (knowledge), Manas (thought), Prāṇa (breath/ life), Vāc (speech),
✓5 names of Śiva – Īśāna (ruler), Tatpuruṣa (that person), Aghora (not terrible), Vāmadeva (pleasant god), Sadyojāta (born at once)
✓1-Ātmā (spiritual self)

Sources:- Rig Veda, Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda, and Part 9 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad where Sage Yajnavalkya is questioned by Sage Sakalya.

if we go slightly deeper, we can identify the following core values of Sanatana Dharma/Hindu faith:
1. There is a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both immanent & transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.

2. No one path/religion teaches the ONLY way to salvation above all others,but that ALL genuine paths are facets of God's Light,deserving respect & understanding.
3. Karma is the law of cause & effect by which each individual creates his/her own destiny by thoughts,words &actions

4.The Soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved&moksha (liberation) from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny.
5. ALL life forms are sacred,to be loved &revered,so you have to follow Ahimsa

6. Divinity exists in unseen worlds and temple worship, rituals, sacraments & personal devotions can help in connecting with God. Thus God can be worshiped in many forms - as Krishna, Ganesha, Kaali, Durga, Shiva, Surya, Agni or any other form/name.

As the RigVeda Richa (1/164/46) proclaims:
God is called Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, Divya, Suparna, Garutmaan, Yama and Maatarishvaa etc. but God is one, wise call him by many names. Therefore, in the end of the number of names of the same God do not really matter.

What matters is that Truth/God is one - it can be called by various names by various people.

@KhajuriaManu @DAkkhar