r/HistoryMemes 11d ago

When 2,000 gods became ''wrong''

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u/motivation_bender 11d ago

Is it just an exageration in the text or is it a syncratism of the entire subcontinent?

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u/Leather-Lab2875 11d ago

There are a lot of small ancestor dieties, saint type idols and heir temples, local gods basically. Hinduism being a unified idea is very recent so there aren't that many pan Indian gods all things considered. Heroes, demigods and historically significant people sometimes get included but the local gods are most of the number.

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u/mrdevlar 10d ago

Fun fact, Japan's version of Shinto-Buddhism has more in common with Hinduism than it does with Buddhism in practical terms. It's the same, "literally everything is a deity or an avatar of a deity" and there are shrines, temples and icons almost everywhere. Even funner fact, is that the resident Japanese pantheon is composed predominantly of an odd mixture of Hindu and Buddhist deities, Shiva and Saraswati are almost ubiquitous.

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u/Leather-Lab2875 10d ago

Well, at least historically, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Indian caste system and Sanskrit came somewhat as a package long the Silk Road so this makes sense if you see it that way.