Trimūrti

views updated Jun 11 2018

Trimūrti (Skt., ‘of three forms’). The Hindu recognition of threefold interaction being necessary for creation and dissolution, hence especially the three interrelated manifestations of the divine: Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva. As Brahmā diminished in importance, the ‘social’ necessity of being (cf. TRINITY) led to Viṣṇu or especially Śiva being represented in threefold activity.

Trimurti

views updated May 29 2018

Trimurti in Hinduism, the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva; the word comes from Sanskrit tri ‘three’ + mūrti ‘form’.