Knowledge · Deities
Hindu Deities & Sacred Traditions
A broad Hindu deity collection with particular attention to traditions strongly represented in Nepal — distinguishing pan-Hindu traditions from Nepal-specific manifestations and practices.
Bhairava
Bhairava is the fierce, protective manifestation of Shiva, widely worshipped throughout the Indian subcontinent and, with particular prominence, across the Kathmandu Valley, where numerous forms — including Akash Bhairav, Swet (White) Bhairav and Kal (Black) Bhairav — serve as guardian deities of the city and its sacred spaces.
Ganesha
Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is one of the most widely worshipped deities in Hinduism, invoked at the start of any new undertaking, journey or ritual as the remover of obstacles (Vighnaharta) and lord of beginnings. In Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, Ganesha is honored through the Char Binayak — four historic shrines traditionally said to form a protective boundary around the valley.
Kali
Kali is one of the most powerful and widely recognized goddesses in Hinduism, the first of the ten Mahavidyas (Great Wisdom Goddesses) and a principal form of the Great Goddess (Devi) in Shakta tradition. Fierce in appearance and closely associated with time, death and transformation, Kali is paradoxically also revered as a compassionate, protective mother goddess by her devotees — a duality central to her theology.
Kubera
Kubera is the Hindu god of wealth and king of the Yakshas, revered as a guardian deity of the northern direction and, under the name Vaishravana, adopted into Buddhist cosmology as one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Depicted plump and richly adorned with a wealth-spouting mongoose, Kubera is venerated across both Hindu and Buddhist communities of Nepal as a figure of prosperity and protection.
Shiva
Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, revered as the ascetic yogi and cosmic dissolver within the Trimurti, and as the Supreme Being within Shaiva tradition. Known by many names — Rudra, Maheshvara, Mahadeva — Shiva embodies both fierce destructive power and profound stillness, and is central to devotional, yogic and ascetic traditions across the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayas, nowhere more prominently in Nepal than at Pashupatinath in Kathmandu.
Major Deities
- Shiva
- Parvati
- Vishnu
- Lakshmi
- Saraswati
- Brahma
- Ganesha
- Kartikeya
- Hanuman
- Krishna
- Rama
Dashamahavidya
- Kali
- Tara
- Tripurasundari
- Bhuvaneshwari
- Chhinnamasta
- Bhairavi
- Dhumavati
- Bagalamukhi
- Matangi
- Kamala
Nepal Shakti Traditions
- Taleju
- Dakshinkali
- Guhyeshwari
Bhairava
- Bhairava
- Akash Bhairava
- Swet Bhairava
Ganesh
- Ganesh
- Char Binayak
Vaishnava
- Vishnu
- The Four Narayan of Kathmandu Valley
Matrika
- Ashtamatrika (Eight Mother Goddesses)
Healing-related figures
- Dhanvantari
- Ashvin Kumar traditions