Why are Gods paired with animals in Hinduism?
Why do we always see animals paired with Gods in Hinduism? Here’s the tea (Part 1)
First we believe in soul or atman, which animals have as well & in fact we believe we’ve all been through cycles of births as animals, so while they’re still said to be spritually not as advanced, they’re not below us morally, which is why most Hindus don’t eat meat.
While you’ll find many origin stories & legends of how each God paired up with one animal as their vahana or mode of transport, these tales basically just ways to teach us lessons but the basic scientific idea is that these animals symbolize the kind of energy that God has conquered, converting the negative aspects of the animal into positive & representing their positive qualities.
First, Ganesh always has a mouse or mushak because as mice are highly intelligent & they can run through mazes conquering obstalces, and he is the God of intelligence who also removes all the issues hurting us which is why he’s called Gan-Pathi.
But mice also greedy like humans, something which Ganesh helps us conquer so he’s seen sitting on top of a mouse to remind us to conquer our ego & desires & come out on top when things get tough.
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Why are certain Gods & Goddesses paired with animals as their vehicals in Hinduism (Part 2)
We basically know that these animals are symbols of the energies or qualities that the Gods have conquered. Lord Shiva, for example, is paired with a bull as the bull stands for stability, justice & male fertility - some things that he specializes in.
The Bull is also the symbol of Dharma or righteousness, which Shiva oversees & protects so if there’s injustice happening, Shiva charges like a bull to destroy it - this is also why Yama, the God of Death, is associated with the bull because he also checks how fair we’ve been in our lives.
On the other hand, if you pray to him, he’ll arrive with, Nandi or the giver of Joy, symbolizing his ability to help & make you happy. So that’s why Nandi is placed in temples always looking at Shiva from the entrance to remind us to focus on God.
Also, Vishnu’s case is very interesting because he’s seen with the Garuda or Eagle as well as Sesha or Ananta, which is the serpant.
Traditionally, snakes & eagles are at war with each other but both of them serving Vishnu represents the duality of nature where yin & yang live in harmony despite differences.
Garuda is the active part of Vishnu - he soars high above the normal mortal realms as the God of justice - he stands for speed & power, so he & Vishnu are said to rise above everything as the protector of the universe.
Ananta is the passive part of Vishnu - he’s shown with Vishnu sitting on him in deep sleep on an endless cosmic ocean. We believe that the multiverse is part of Vishnu’s dreams & when he wakes up, everything’s destroyed to be created again.
The serpant, which moves in circle, represents this infinite nature of the universe, symbolising Vishnu’s control over time & his power to bring stability, thus preserving the cosmos.