[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879) › c5.1860 # A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.1860 A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.1860 - **Language:** English ### [c5.1860](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1860) TRI-MŪRTI. ‘Triple form.’ The Hindu triad. This was foreshadowed in the Vedic association of the three gods Agni, Vāyu, and Sūrya. The triad consists of the gods Brahmā, Siva, and Vishnu, the representatives of the creative, destructive, and preservative principles. Brahmā is the embodiment “of the Rajo-guṇa, the quality of passion or desire, by which the world was called into being; Siva is the embodied Tamo-guṇa, the attribute of darkness or wrath, and the destructive fire by which the earth is annihilated; and Vishnu is the embodied Satwa-guṇa, or property of mercy and goodness by which the world is preserved. The three exist in one and one in three, as the Veda is divided into three and is yet but one; and they are all Āsrita, or comprehended within that one being who is Parama or ‘supreme,’ Guhya or ‘secret,’ and Sarvātmā, ‘the soul of all things.’”—\*Wilson\*. - [Previous: c5.1859](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1859) - [Next: c5.1861](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1861) - [Up: c5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1860](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1860) · Pramāṇa