The Trimurti (English: "Three forms"; Sanskrit: trimūrti) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva respectively." These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity". However Gavin Flood dismisses this terminology as inexact, saying that Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are "sometimes erroneously referred to as the 'Hindu trinity'. Freda Matchett characterizes the Trimurti system as one of "several frameworks into which various divine figures can be fitted at different levels."
One type of depiction for the Trimurti shows three heads on one neck, and often even three faces on one head, each looking in a different direction.