A question concerning the Trimurti, Tridevi, and their relation to the 3 Gunas.
I'm fairly new to studying Hinduism and this thing is driving me a little crazy, so I'm hoping there are satisfying answers/thoughts out there!
So, there's the 3 Gunas that “power” the universe; Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva. Got it.
These 3 Gunas are embodied, in part, by the Trimurti… Shiva embodies inertia/gravity/inevitability i.e Tamas, Brahma embodies passion/ambition/anxiety i.e Rajas, Vishnu embodies harmony/peace/balance i.e Sattva. Got it.
These 3 Gunas also are associated with the Tridevi… Parvati and her incarnations Kali and Yuga are associated with power, primal destruction and bloodlust i.e Tamas, Lasksmi is associated with abundance and material wealth i.e Rajas, Saraswarti is associated with wisdom/knowledge/purity/calm i.e Sattva. Got it.
Now, the Tridevi are paired with the Trimurti like this: Shiva is paired with Parvati and both represent Tamas, Brahma is paired with Saraswarti where one represents Rajas and the other Sattva, and Vishnu is paired with Lakshmi where one represents Sattva and the other represents Rajas??…. I don't got it!
Parvati being Shiva's consort makes sense in that they both represent different facets of Tamas… but why is Brahma paired with the feminine representative of Sattva and Vishnu the feminine representation of Rajas? Why wouldn't they be paired with consorts that match the Guna they embody? Is there any significance in Shiva/Parvati's union having similitude where Brahma/Samswarti and Vishnu/Lakshmi; from a Gunas perspective, does not have similitude? Is there a lesson here, or is it a case of “because that's just the way it is”?
I'm willing to accept there is no significance to the dynamic one way or the other, but only if people way more knowledgeable about this stuff than me tell me that's the case!