Hinduism Clarification, Names, and Help

I need help with something. Serious help.
Posted something like this in the "Writing" section and haven't gotten much but a suggestion to look to the 3 Idiots (Bollywood) for inspiration. I think that section has pretty much been taken over by RPs, or maybe I'm just the odd one out in getting advice. So, in an effort to make this count, I've come to the only other forum I can with such a topic.

I'm writing a serious story and I just need someone who knows about Hinduism, is a Hindu, a follower of one of the yoga, or at least knows the definition/meaning of the words/names being used.

-What does Kama mean?
-What does Ishan mean (very important)? Is it "the sun", or is it related to the deity Shiva (who research indicates is the destroyer/transformer)? Is it both; like is Shiva acting as the sun?
-I'm positive Saurish relates to Vishnu (who research indicates is the maintainer/preserver), but I'm not so sure anymore. Does it?
-And of course Brahma and Brahman. As I understand it:
Brahman is the supreme being in Hinduism. The god of all gods. Both indestructible and indescribable. It seems that Brahman is a creator seen through many perceptions, but with all perceptions being true and false at the same time. He is described on one site (www.hinduwebsite.com) as “blissfully immersed in himself and all by himself”.
Also: Brahma is the name of the creator god, which is a lower manifestation of the mysterious god in Hinduism. Make it a point to show/say Brahma turned into Brahman when he went off to rule his kingdom and transformed himself.

So yeah, help with name Hindi definition and what your thoughts are on this information I've gathered from a long time researching Trimurti and the three deities involved.

Why I'm doing this:


And to those who are Hindu:


Theme: It's the idea of staying as is under torment or taking away what's keeping the illusion of peace in the hope of a brighter tomorrow. The only real villains are the false gods who manipulated and massacred their way to their thrones.
_So, I hope this doesn't offend anyone who is Hindu or follows any of the yoga. I don't want to be like some writers who use religious themes or symbols just because it looks cool. I sincerely want to do this right, in a way that allows this to flow as I want it to but also allow those who are intimate with the theme, philosophy and religion being used to appreciate it on some level (or in the very least to let them enjoy an adventure without groaning at inaccuracies every five pages).

Kāma (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: काम) is often translated from Sanskrit as sexual desire, sexual pleasure, sensual gratification, sexual fulfillment, or eros, but can more broadly mean desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the senses, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, without sexual connotations.

Ishan - In Sanskrit the word refers to "The Lord Vishnu; The creator of the universe and all other Gods" and the north east direction . Ishaan has its roots in the word "Ish" which means the invisible power that is the universe. The wielder of this power, or this power itself is "Īśāna", Ishwar or Lord Vishnu.

Saurish - Pretty much the same.


My thoughts? Learn to use Google.

Google is not God.

The article you read that definition of Ishan from comes from Wikipedia, and while my definition of Trimurti comes from there as well, this particular article has "This article does not cite any references or sources" plastered above it.
_I also just stated what I've learned about the deities in the OP, stating that of the things I've come to learn, Brahma is the creator god. Now, since I'm not Hindu, I wouldn't know if the three deities are always separate entities or have some sort of shift into one another or something, but from what I see this article looks wrong.

This is why I need someone who knows for a fact, likely someone who's been studying this for more than a year and/or lives with Hinduism as their truth. Without that, and without hard evidence, I can't go ahead with the story.
Thank you for replying, though.

Fair enough then, I'm sorry I wasted your time.

Good luck with the story, would be interested to read once you've found what you're looking for.

You didn't waste my time, mate. It's true that, though Google is not end-all be-all, searching the web is more reliable than asking random folks on a forum who could potentially lie on a whim about being Hindu and leave me none the wiser.

Thanks for replying, Gravity Cat, and I really appreciate the well wishes for the story.

Hi, MegaTenLove, I'm an ex-Hindu, as well as someone who has studied Hinduism in a historical context from an outsider's perspective, so I may be able to help you.

For starters, congratulations on finding such an interesting topic! To this day, Hindu myths (and Hindus often refer to them as such when speaking in English) fascinate me just like they did when I was a child.

As for professional sources, I have nothing greater than wikipedia for the meanings of kama and ishaan. I'm a native speaker of Bengali, as well as a second language speaker of Hindi, and I don't feel that kama is very frequently in daily speech. It's more of one of those fancy Sanskrit terms that has more meaning to philosophers than laymen. Ishaan is a very common male name (there were 3 Ishaans in my class of ~40 when I went to school in India) but people tend to think of it as just a given name more often than the meaning of the word.

With regards to Brahman and the trimurti, I have an interesting (anecdotal) view on this; it seems that (non-priest) adults know much less about mythology than do children. Hindu temples "sermons" consist of Brahmins chanting in Sanskrit which none of the laymen understand. Most of the common man's understanding of religion comes from a several stories passed down by word of mouth, and increasingly in the modern day, comic books and picture books for children.

This is one of the most definitively pagan (a word I use with great respect) aspects of Hinduism: the tendency for sensationalism to prevail over rank. Brahma is undoubtedly one of the greatest gods, yet there are virtually no stories (that I have dicovered) which center around him. He occasionally appears as something of a plot device; it's often through his ill-rewarded blessings that the bad guys get the power to challenge a more popular god like Vishnu or Shiva in the first place. That's exactly what happened with Hiranyakshipu (probably spelled that wrong) when he challenged Vishnu and got defeated by Narashimha. Shiva, Vishnu (especially the avatars Krishna and Rama), their wives and some of their children (like Ganesh and Kartik) are very important players. On the topic of wives, do you want any information on the tridevi?

This is similar to lower "ranking" characters like Hercules, Hermes and Apollo featuring in popular Greek myths much more than top dogs like Hestia and Demeter.

Many Hindus don't really care for a lot of existentialist stuff about the trimurti being a symbol of the eternal blablabla... for them, like all pagans, it works like this:

Want to do well on a test? Pray to Sarasvati
Want to make more money? Pray to Lakshmi
Want to find love? Pray to Parvati
Want some general good luck? Pray to Ganesha

There also some less material/obvious ones. While most Hindus are very much non-sectarian (i.e. not Vaishnavite or Shaivite, etc.), individual perception of a God might lead to someone praying to Shiva/Kali for strength or to Vishnu for peace during very trying times. (When I was a very young, I was actually hugely fond of Vishnu, and felt like he could be my best friend and confidante for everything in the world. To me he represented a very strong yet gentle for of justice in a dangerous world.)

A lot of times, you may find Hindus who don't even recognize some of the more philosophical gods. My father (not very pious at all) had never heard of Brahman, I only discovered his existence through intellectual pursuits, not personal experience. Simply put, highly abstract concepts don't catch on quite as well as awesome stories about likable personalities.

I'm sure I missed some of your questions, so just clarify any points I missed. I'd be happy to help you with this as much as I can.

P.S.- I hope you plan on including the tridevi; they're the consorts to and a very important balance to the trimurti.

Fuck yeah you helped me!
I mean- Thanks, mate. I really appreciate the post, the insight, and the enthusiasm.

It's an amazing relief to hear what you told me. I knew that since I'm not using the deities as characters in my stories I wouldn't be stepping on toes, but unintentionally using the name of a deity or getting a philosophy incorrect would mean absolute destruction even if I barely get noticed by anyone once published. I'm a bit more confident now.

I decided to look into Shiva's destructive form and found that his manifestation in said form is known as Bhairava. Now that I have an actual name to go on (and a pair of Hindu myths in regards to its origin
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhairava ), I will be replacing "Ishan" with it and finally fill out the second aspect of the false gods in my story: That they chose their personifications with little-to-no knowledge of their respective religions. They aren't only self-rightous, but they are also willfully ignorant to what their names really belong to.
_Also another reason I needed to get my facts straight. If I'm going to have the false gods be ignorant, I can't make a single mistake or the reader might think I'm trying to lampshade my own ignorance, which would ruin everything for everybody.

As for the Tridevi, I never heard of it before. I know that Shiva and Vishnu (I believe) had wives, but I didn't realize they played an important role in trimurti. As of now it seems I might have unknowingly created a character with some of the aspects present in the tridevi.
_Of the two main female characters, one them is the only religious character in the story (I left her faith a mystery as to both deter the idea this story is a thinly veiled assault on religion and to portray a character with a mindset atypical of that of a rebel against gods). She's very peaceful, playful in a friendly sense, and teaches the protagonist a number of things including some of the religions that the gods stole and distorted into their image, how to triumph over one's past traumas, forgiveness of one's self and others, and how to overcome certain hardships through the spirit and not just through violence.
_Then again that would only cover spiritual and cultural fulfillment, huh? I'll see if I can implement all the themes of the tridevi as well.

Thank you again, ryuuhagoku. Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia are a massive help, as is the local library (which isn't so local anymore), but it never hurts to have someone like you post a reply. I truly appreciate the help and interesting facts you've given me.

No problem! I'm glad I was able to be helpful!

I certainly don't want to tell you how to write your story, but I thought I could just point out a few things that you may consider when writing:

-With regards to the main female character that you described, you may want to consider not only the tridevi, but also the different forms of Parvati. Most Hindus consider Parvati and Kali to be the same forms of each other, despite having very different themes (love and death). However, among my people, Bengalis, as well as some other east-ish Indian Hindus, believe in the central importance of a third form, known as Durga. What most Hindus celebrate as Navratri we celebrate as Durga Puja (puja basically means festival).

-The tridevi and trimurti do have (imo) an awkward lack of matching. Shiva the Destroyer is paired with Parvati of love, Vishnu the Preserver is paired with Lakshmi of wealth and Brahma the creator is paired with Sarasvati of wisdom. Of course, Vishnu and especially Shiva are the most multifaceted characters of any sort that I have ever seen, so their roles as "destroyer" and "preserver" must be taken with a grain of salt.

-Do you plan on portraying the children of Shiva/Parvati? Their popularity should warrant them a mention at least. I've that in parts of west India, Ganesha is the most important God with regards to festivals, but this is totally anecdotal.

-Do you plan on incorporating the balance of power between the Asuras and Devas in your writing? This is probably the aspect of Hinduism that, from a historical perspective, I find most fascinating.

-Please tell me you plan on including weapons like Trishul and Sudarshan Chakra if you have a final battle scene! So much awesomeness to be had there :D

If you want to hear more about any of this, don't hesitate to ask. I very much enjoy being able to help you with your story.

The female character I spoke of certainly has some aspects of both Parvati and Kali, but she doesn't have much in relation to Durga. Since she isn't directly related to the false gods, she doesn't have any of the abilities they gave their own, and physically being (though athetic and fierce in combat) a normal woman, she doesn't have the kind of strength or visually intimidating physique a character relating to Durga would. Remember, this character's persona was created before I knew about the tridevi or knew much about Parvati and Kali. It's merely a happy circumstance that she relates to a goddess who is the wife of Shiva, the god which the protagonist somewhat relates to. If I tried to add in aspects of Durga then her character would change, and I can't do that.
_I'm sorry, but there are numerous astoundingly interesting themes and gods/goddesses that I just can't incorporate due to a lack of space, otherwise the plot would get too stuffed. But I will try incorporating as much as I can.

-Don't worry, both Kama and Saurish, my story's representatives for destruction and preservation, aren't one dimensional (even in those themes). I'll keep in mind what you said.

-I won't be incorporating the children of Shiva/Parvati since I don't have any room for them, and since the false gods are too arrogant to go by names that are given to the children of gods (despite said children being deities themselves), I don't have any characters that could be related to them either. But they will most certainly be mentioned.

-I also won't be directly adding the balance of power between the Asuras and Devas, though since the story is basically "Man VS Gods", then it's likely I'll touch on it a bit.

-Finally I can tell you something I am adding into the story, and it's something I had added way back when I first planned this out. Yes I'm totally having Trishul (is it Trishul or Trishula?) and Sudarshan Chakra in the story later on and will be used in the climax of the last part story. They obviously won't be the exact weapons of the gods (meaning they'll be man-made and not brimming with supernatural power), but they will look as close to the originals as I can detail them. They will not just be weapons but will (of course) retain their symbology as well. The Sudarchan Chakra might not be cutting any mountains in my story, but I plan on making it as amazing as it should be.

You really are an amazing help, ryuuhagoku. +Rep is just not good enough in my opinion. Thanks again and again for helping me so much. I'm even more confident now than I was before that I won't screw this up, and that's thanks to you. Bless you, mate!