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11. TRIMURTHY
The Hindu Trimurti Brahma, Siva, Vishnu from Hoysaleswara Temple in Halebid
Here the three appears as three distinct deities
The Shivaite said, "These three are one, but mine is the greatest";
the Vishnuite replied, "These three are one, but mine is the greatest."
Sakthites replied that Sakthi is the basic Cosmic Principle of Creation and all the Trinity came out of it
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF RELIGION
E. Washburn Hopkins, 1923
CHAPTER XVIII THE HINDU TRINITY
.....Harivansha : "These two highest gods are in their nature one" (10672 f.). ...... The sects are still active in India; a rivalry between them still exists; their adherents are marked with different devices. ...... In the Puranas each god is worshipped separately. I.,,Each sect still asserts that, though the equation Vishnu== Shiva= One, holds good, yet Shiva or Vishnu (as the case may be) is distinctly inferior to the other rival god. ....No Hindu philosopher has ever taken this trinity seriously and no theologian has discussed it.
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